Lou Lamoriello's show of support gives Islanders players a boost

Lou Lamoriello’s public declaration of support still resonates in the Islanders’ dressing room and throughout the organization five days later.

Now the Islanders have to prove the Hall of Fame executive’s belief was well-placed, and, in the process, finally begin treating a seasonlong malady in the process.

For a variety of reasons, there is no time like the present. Not the least of which is the March 7 NHL trade deadline.

“Where we are in the standings is going to play a huge factor [in Lamoriello’s decision-making whether to add or subtract from the roster at the deadline],” Matt Martin told Newsday following the morning skate at Northwell Health Ice Center ahead of the Islanders’ game at UBS Arena on Tuesday night against the Senators.

The match was the first of a seven-game homestand for the Islanders (17-18-7, 41 points), who entered the first leg of the stretch having won three straight but in last place in the Metropolitan Division due to the Flyers’ 4-3 come-from-behind regulation win over the Panthers Monday night.

Moreover, the Flyers’ win also dropped the Islanders to 15th overall in the Eastern Conference — ahead of only perpetually rebuilding Buffalo. And most significant, the Islanders trail Boston by six points (47-41) for the East’s first wild-card spot and are five points (46-41) behind Columbus for the second and final berth. The Islanders have 40 games remaining.

So making up ground and for lost time are their first tasks.

“For us as players, we just have to take care of business and win games,” Martin said.

Beginning to develop a home-ice advantage at the $1.5 billion rink on the Queens/Nassau County border would be helpful to their cause. The Islanders are 7-9-2 on home ice this season.

“We have to win some games at home,” Mathew Barzal said. “Even when we played Toronto at home and lost, 2-1 [on Jan. 2], we could have won that game, for sure. So I think it’s been a five-game stretch since the first game in Toronto [on Dec. 31] that we’ve been playing a good style of hockey so I think it’s sustainable.”

Which has been a theme the Islanders have routinely repeated since the start of the new year. Following the loss to the Leafs, Patrick Roy said he had “nothing to support what I’m going to say but we’re playing good hockey. We limited the chances. We had some chances. I think we just need to get better shots on net. The quality of our shots needs to be better.”

Analytics back up Roy’s supposition.

According to data culled by NaturalStatTrick.com, the Islanders have 10 more shots on goal than their opponents (123-113), three more high-danger chances (43-40), 16 more scoring chances (113-97), and have a .750 points percentage in the four games — three wins and one loss — they have played in the calendar year 2025.

Collectively, it is both a small sample size and indicative of a team that is playing better.

“Everyone seems to be playing for the next guy,” Barzal said. “There hasn’t been any individualism and very much so every line is clicking. [The defense] pairs are playing hard and we’re getting good goaltending, so it’s a whole team thing.”

And, as Martin noted, having the team play well and a strong homestand could cause Lamoriello to bolster the roster at the trade deadline instead of potentially trading pending UFAs Brock Nelson and Smithtown’s Kyle Palmieri, as well as Jean-Gabriel Pageau. There has been speculation that the three could be traded to playoff contenders if the Islanders fall out of contention.

During his State of the Organization address Thursday prior to the Islanders’ 4-0 win over the Golden Knights, Lamoriello said he knew “the players. I know what they’re capable of doing. In my opinion we have the talent in there to [qualify for the playoffs].”

Notes & quotes: Three hours before the game the Islanders announced Marc Gatcomb had been recalled on an emergency basis from AHL Bridgeport. He replaced Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who was out due to an undisclosed illness . . . Marcus Hogberg was tabbed to start his second straight game because Ilya Sorokin still was not feeling well. . . Rookie defenseman Isaiah George returned to the lineup from an upper body injury while Alex Romanov (upper body) was day-to-day.