Warning: Story contains coarse language
0-4-3.
That's the New York Islanders' record over their past seven outings and, quite frankly, head coach Doug Weight has seen enough.
"It's f---ing getting old," Weight told Arthur Staple of The Athletic following Monday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks, a game in which the Islanders held a 2-0 lead midway through the second period.
"Fifteen shots in the first and we just want to screw around, walking it down the pipe, backdoors, BS," Weight continued. "And we should've won the game. We should've had a 3-0 lead, but we just stopped shooting. Played fine. They didn't have much. Same story - they get a chance, goes in. Couple bonehead plays."
As the losses pile up, frustrations with the Islanders' inability to lock down a playoff position have escalated.
With 67 points in as many games played, New York now sits four points outside of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, while the team's recent slump has allowed both the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers to climb back into the playoff chase.
It's no secret that New York struggles to keep pucks out of its own net - the Islanders have allowed a league-leading 241 goals against - but the team's sudden inability to create its own offense has come at the worst possible time. Once neck and neck with the NHL-best Tampa Bay Lightning, New York has tallied just 16 times in its past seven outings.
Not only does a playoff berth hang in the balance, so too does the future of captain John Tavares, an unrestricted free agent this summer. That makes it all the more critical that the Islanders punch their ticket to the postseason, if they hope to sign the franchise pillar to a long-term extension.
The Islanders return to the ice Thursday against the Edmonton Oilers, when they will aim for their first win since Feb. 16.
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