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At least it’s not COVID-19.
The Islanders now can add the weather to the long list of issues that have disrupted their 2021-22 season.
The game scheduled for Saturday against the Kraken was postponed late Friday due to the snowstorm set to hit the New York metro area. The game, originally set for 2 p.m., would have been Jordan Eberle’s return to Long Island and would have been a chance for the Islanders to get back on track following a demoralizing loss to the Kings on Thursday night.
Long Island Railroad and Metro North service is expected to be suspended and roads could be bad, with snowfall expected throughout the day on Saturday.
The NHL announced the game against Seattle will be rescheduled for Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
That shortens the Islanders’ All-Star break by a day, and means they will play a back-to-back before the hiatus, with a game against the Senators at UBS Arena on Tuesday night. Their game on Sunday against the Wild is still on the schedule.
The 3-2 loss to the Kings on Thursday dropped the Isl anders back to .500, and was another disappointing performance against a playoff team. During the first half of the season, almost nothing has gone right for the Islanders.
COVID-19 outbreaks, both among the Islanders and across the league, were the cause for postponing several November and December games. That resulted in the Islanders playing just twice in over three weeks at one point.
On the ice, the product has been disappointing, as a team that made the Stanley Cup semifinals in each of the last two seasons has found itself outside of the playoff picture, with its window to get back in starting to slam shut.
“We’re in a hole,” Scott Mayfield said Thursday night. “I think .500 was a benchmark that we looked at. We were able to get there. But yeah, it’s been tough. It’s just been back and forth. Get one game ahead and then right back to it.”
The Islanders’ struggles lately have come against playoff teams such as the Kings. The Wild, the Islanders’ opponent on Sunday, hold a wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Islanders’ offense continues to be an issue, and a game against the Kraken — whose goaltending has been nothing short of shambolic all year — could have been a chance to get things right.
Instead, it will have to wait.
“Our concern is winning hockey games and you got to score to do that,” Anders Lee said Thursday. “Tonight we did generate some offense, it didn’t go on the net. It can feel worse than it was. Anytime you lose, it doesn’t feel good.”
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