So much for home cooking being the remedy to the Islanders’ recent woes.
After a solid win over Boston last Saturday — their first game of eight of 10 at the Nassau Coliseum — the Isles have dropped three straight on their home ice. That includes Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to Montreal, in front of a crowd made up primarily of Habs fans.
They’ll try to start turning things around tonight when they host Tampa Bay after canceling practice yesterday because of the weather.
“Every point is crucial right now, especially at home,” Matt Moulson said. “We’ve gotta take advantage of that.”
They’ll face a struggling Lightning team that just snapped a six-game losing streak.
“Whether we’ve won three [in a row] or lost three, they’re all important,” said coach Scott Gordon, who bemoaned his team’s lack of offense after the most recent loss, as the Isles haven’t gotten more than three goals since a 4-1 win over Atlanta on Dec. 3and are three games under .500, matching a season high.
Just as alarming is their ineffectiveness on special teams. After scoring five power-play goals over a three-game stretch earlier this month, the Isles are now 0-for-17 in their last four matches.
To make matters worse, they have surrendered eight power-play goals in those games.
“That’s a big difference in the game,” said Martin Biron, who continues to be unable to win a game, having gone without one since Nov. 13.
“We work hard at killing penalties and right now, it’s going the wrong way. We’re gonna need to spend some time looking at that and make sure we tweak things to make the penalty kill a momentum builder, as it should be.”
Their lack of success on special teams has been particularly glaring because they have played fairly well at even strength, consistently outshooting their opponents — to little effect.
* Rick DiPietro is expected to return to the ice today for the first time since being removed from a rehab start for Bridgeport on Dec. 11 with tightness in his leg.