Islanders’ new building rocking, team not so much

ELMONT, N.Y. » If only for a fleeting few minutes, UBS Arena was filled with the level of hope, optimism and excitement that it had yet to previously see in its brief existence thus far.

As the final seconds were ticking down in regulation with the New York Islanders down a goal, defenseman Noah Dobson fluttered a shot through traffic that beat Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury through traffic with four seconds left to tie the game at 2-2, and send a fanbase that’s been desperate for something to get excited about lately into a frenzy.

That feeling did not last long.

Patrick Kane scored a dazzling goal in the shootout, the Blackhawks claimed the extra point, and the spiral for the Islanders continued; they’ve now lost 11 straight games, have yet to win in six tries in their new building and currently sit in dead last in the very competitive Metropolitan Division.

“It was great to hear this building roar like that,” veteran forward Josh Bailey said. “It’s unfortunate we didn’t get the second point. I think we’re building here. There’s some positives, it’s starting to feel right again. There’s still more, but baby steps. This isn’t going to happen overnight, but we’re trending in the right direction. We’ve just got to keep working and keep our heads up.”

The fall from being among the Eastern Conference’s elite has been a stunning one for a group that’s remained largely intact over the past several years, with notable exceptions like skilled forward Jordan Eberle heading to the expansion Seattle Kraken and defenseman Nick Leddy being sent to the Detroit Red Wings.

But, for the most part, the group that went to back-toback Eastern Conference/ Stanley Cup semifinals is intact, making the slow start to the season — albeit one with valid excuses such as a lengthy road trip to start the year as they awaited the completion of their beautiful new arena, as well as being ravaged by COVID for several games — all the more puzzling to comprehend.

To his credit, the team’s veteran head coach, Barry Trotz, doesn’t seem too concerned about the team’s early struggles, choosing to look at how they’re playing versus focusing on the standings.

“I look at the game, and the only thing I didn’t like was the result,” he said.

“You look at the group, and I thought we got really good effort. Our power play

I thought was good, our forecheck was pretty solid. We had emotion, we had physicality. Our work ethic was really good. We got some big saves when we needed it…going through what we have the last couple weeks here, it shows a lot about the group that they didn’t give up. They found a way, they went right to the end and we ended up getting a point and we had a chance at maybe two…we’re playing in a lot of areas the right way, we’re playing with a little more confidence. The group understands. We’d love to get our first win in the building here for our fans, for us, for our confidence. But we’re collecting points as we can. We’d like two, but we got one, and it’s better than nothing.”

Setting that type of tone has seemed to trickle down to the players, who surely are disappointed with the first quarter of their season, but aren’t showing any visible frustration, knowing there’s plenty of games left.

“We’ve been doing some good things in these last three games,” said forward J-G Pageau. “Obviously, we want that extra point, but we’re building right now, and I think our game is going in the right direction. You see, when you score like that at the end, that the team is ready to play a full 60. Everybody showed up tonight.”