Islanders defense struggles in rough road loss to Jets

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — For the second time in three days, the Islanders played pond hockey.

This time, it was on NHL ice and didn’t make for quite as much of a feel-good story.

Superstar rookie Matthew Schaefer’s return after a first-period visit to the dressing room prompted by the concussion spotter does, at least, give the cliché that it’s just one game out of 82 a little more weight after a game the Islanders would rather forget.

Winnipeg players Vladislav Namestnikov (7) and Nino Niederreiter (62) look on as the puck gets behind goaltender Ilya Sorokin for a second-period goal during the Islanders’ 5-4 road loss to the Jets on Jan. 13, 2025. NHLI via Getty Images

Schaefer missed just 12:22 of action, so crisis averted. Had the rookie needed to miss serious time, the season would have flashed before everyone’s eyes. Instead, there’s a sloppy 5-4 loss to the Jets to dissect.

One out of 82 or not, though, Tuesday night at Canada Life Centre wasn’t anything like the Islanders’ best.

They were too wide open, not hard enough around the net and boxed out of both creases in the decisive moments by a Winnipeg club that had won just two of its past 10 coming into the night.

When the Islanders have struggled this year, those reasons have usually been the common denominator. If Mathieu Darche opts to buy between now and the trade deadline, there’s his roadmap for what to look for, but on Tuesday night, there was no help coming.

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After going down 3-0 in the second, it looked like the Islanders might work their way out of the mess. Anthony Duclair, Emil Heineman and Kyle MacLean scored consecutive goals to tie the game at 3-3 in a span of 3:58, Heineman doing so via penalty shot, and on another night, that momentum might have vaulted the Islanders into two points.

On this one, not so.

Emil Heineman scores on a penalty shot against goalie Connor Hellebuyck during the second period of the Islanders’ loss to the Jets. Terrence Lee-Imagn Images

Just as quickly as the Islanders grabbed momentum, they lost it again. Dylan DeMelo’s shot from the top of the zone went through Nino Niederreiter’s screen to put Winnipeg back up just 1:02 after MacLean had tied it.

Then Adam Lowry boxed out Tony DeAngelo in the crease to tip in Neal Pionk’s shot with 20 seconds to go in the second to make it 5-3 going into the last intermission.

In the last 20 minutes, the Islanders did tighten things up defensively far more than the free-flowing first 40. Unable to get any meaningful traffic around Connor Hellebuyck’s crease, though, their attempt at a push fell flat.

Schaefer’s shot from the top of the zone made it 5-4 with 45 seconds left in regulation, but proved too little and too late.

Truth be told, this was as sloppy a game as the Islanders had played all season. They bled 2-on-1s, transitioned the puck poorly and most of all, gave more traffic than the George Washington Bridge at rush hour.

Mathew Barzal was beaten to Mark Scheifele’s rebound by Kyle Connor for the game’s opening goal. All Josh Morrissey had to do on Winnipeg’s second goal was float it through the mess of bodies with Adam Boqvist screening his own netminder after the Islanders failed to transition the puck. And on Jonathan Toews’ 3-0 power-play goal, no one was near him at the crease.

Aside from a few spurts, one of which brought a flurry of goals with it, there was little sustained offense. The Islanders breakouts were uncharacteristically poor; their forecheck was there at points but not consistent enough.

It’s a good thing Schaefer was OK. Otherwise this would have been, bar none, the worst night of the season.