Hey, no pressure!
Islanders’ attack lacks as Panthers issue third consecutive defeat
SUNRISE, Fla. — As the Islanders head home, coach Lane Lambert and his team are staring down a three-game losing streak following a winless trip to Florida that ended with a 3-2 defeat to the Panthers on Sunday. Unlike their loss to the Lightning a night earlier, this one was not as competitive as the score suggests.
As Lambert juggled his lines, pairings and power-play units, the Islanders struggled to put together an offensive attack on backup Florida netminder Spencer Knight at five-on-five. Two games after putting 17 shots on Mackenzie Blackwood in a blowout loss to the Devils at home, they forced Knight into just 23 saves and had six scoring chances at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick.
With the third period came a comeback effort as Anders Lee pulled the Islanders to within a goal with a five-on-three tally at 9:07. But as with the rest of the game, the Isles’ five-on-five effort prevented them from following up on that.
“We just gotta find a way to create a little bit more open ice in the offensive zone and deliver the puck [to the net],” Lee said. “We had plenty of shots in previous games that created a lot of zone time and I think when we stick to that and are able to generate that, it pays off for us.”
Anton Lundell scored less than a minute into the match, stripping Adam Pelech behind the net and then scoring from a tight angle past Semyon Varlamov. When Lambert tried to juggle the lines, something he did with success in a win over the Sharks last week, Eetu Luostarinen scored for the Panthers on the first shift that Lee, Mathew Barzal and Oliver Wahlstrom were together, with Lundell assisting.
The second period did come with the team’s first power-play goal since opening night, as Lee tipped Barzal’s shot past Knight to get it back to 2-1. At even strength, though, the Islanders struggled to compete.
The Islanders recorded just one high-danger chance on net, in the third period on a shot from Noah Dobson that missed the net. They were knocked off pucks, beaten below the hashes, beaten on the forecheck and beaten on the walls for most of the night. The score was closer, the opposition was better and the tone was less downtrodden afterwards, but for long stretches this bore an alarming resemblance to Thursday’s effort against the Devils.
“We knew they were gonna come hard and we at times struggled a little bit breaking pucks out,” Lambert said. “So we spent a little bit more time in our zone than we wanted to.”
Ryan Lomberg made it 3-1, Florida, at 2:54 of the third with a wrist shot past Varlamov. The Islanders again pulled within one after Lee’s second goal, but even then, a comeback felt like a steep ask given how they played at five-onfive. Briefly, it looked as though Lee had tied it before the game went back to even strength, but the would-be goal was waved off, as the puck had gone out of play.
Now, as they come back home to face the Rangers on Wednesday, the Islanders are 2-4. Their next two games after the Blueshirts are at Carolina and home against Colorado. It is early in the season, but that is not a good position to be in.
“We have urgency every day, there’s no question,” Lambert said. “The urgency is high.”
After a summer in which the coaching change was the only major change the Islanders made, there is not much room for error if they are to break back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture and the lack of offensive acquisitions has already begun to show up.
A year after scoring once in his first 29 games, Kyle Palmieri has yet to find the scoresheet through the first six matches. Bailey, who was back in the lineup after being made a healthy scratch on Saturday less than a week off from presumably playing his 1,000th game with the club, has not yet recorded a point. Not one of the Islanders’ centers — Barzal, Brock Nelson, Jean-Gabriel Pageau or Casey Cizikas — has scored a goal. Only three forwards have scored more than once and one of them, Anthony Beauvillier, was in the press box during Sunday’s game.
Lambert, afterward, said he has no concern that the right players are on the team.
Tom Thibodeau gave an incredulous look. Then he smiled.
No, the Knicks’ coach said with a smirk, he doesn’t care if his team wins in a shootout or a defensive struggle. It can play fast or slow.
Only one thing matters to him.
“I love winning,” he said. Thibodeau worked for defensive-minded coaches and made a name for himself on the defensive end. In a survey of NBA general managers which asked which coach runs the best defensive schemes, he was tied for third. He is associated with defense. His first Knicks team two years ago overachieved mostly because it was so stout at that end of the floor.
“I know I’ve been put into this box. I have no problem with it,” Thibodeau said. “But I’ve had top-five offenses, too. I think if you understand defense, you also understand where the holes in the defense are, where you can attack the holes in the defense. And that’s one of the advantages I think you do gain.”
This season, Thibodeau is changing it up somewhat, emphasizing uptempo basketball, pushing the ball and playing with pace after the Knicks were next-to-last in that category last year and dead last the season before. Thibodeau’s reasoning for the change is simple: He has the players to execute that style, a selfless point guard in Jalen Brunson, young players who thrive in the open court such as RJ Barrett, Obi Toppin, Cam Reddish and Immanuel Quickley and a deep roster that is suited for playing fast. Both Derrick Rose and Julius Randle, two of the team’s oldest players, arrived in camp noticeably slimmer in preparation for the new style.
“I think people get lost in, ‘OK, we wanna be this.’ Well, no,” Thibodeau said. “What gives you the best chance to win? I think that’s the most important thing.”
The change doesn’t surprise Brunson, who has known the 62-year-old Thibodeau for years, all the way back to his days as an assistant coach for the Knicks. Thibodeau isn’t as rigid as some think. He can change. He’s willing to alter how he operates.
“Good coaches, good players, the reason they are around for a long time, is they continue to adapt,” Brunson said. “They adapt their game, they adapt their way of thinking.
“It’s how the league is trending,” the new Knicks guard added. “Either you’re going to get with it or you’re going to get left behind.”
The Knicks want to play fast. They want to run on every occasion. After made baskets and defensive rebounds, turnovers or even something as basic as an inbounds pass. But there is a fine line between playing fast and playing out of control. Playing with pace only works if it is being done within the team concept.
“The idea is, how do we create more value shots? How do we get more layups? How do we get more free throws? How do we get more corner 3s?” Thibodeau said. “When you look at how teams create 3s, it’s usually in transition. It’s offensive rebounding . ... So, the more times you can do that, the better.”
It’s obviously incredibly early, but the signs are positive. The offense looked vastly different than in past years during the preseason and the first two regular-season games. The ball moved. The Knicks got up and down quicker, getting easy shots. There is far less isolation.
There are, of course, also challenges. It has to become second nature.
“Being consistent with it, you got to do it every time,” Brunson said. “It takes hard work, it takes good conditioning, and it takes being smart as well. Sometimes, we can be playing fast, but we’re not getting good shots. We got to be smart.”
That’s been Thibodeau’s talking point from the outset. This will only work if the Knicks are able to juggle pace with patience, maintaining their defensive mindset while playing at this fast pace. Ultimately, it all boils down to one thing for Thibodeau.
“I just wanna make sure we have more [points] than [the other team] at the end,” he said.