NHL

Islanders continue to make bad luck a habit

It’s self-destructive behavior of the worst kind.

The Islanders are fighting more than just a recent trend of third-period meltdowns. At this point, every time something seems to be going their way, it’s like the whole of the past 20 years of overwhelming ineptitude is piled upon their back, and something, eventually, is going to break it.

Last night at the Coliseum, that old barn on Hempstead Turnpike that still remembers the halcyon days of Trottier, Bossy and Nystrom, the Islanders lost their third game in a row, a 4-2 defeat to the conference-leading Penguins.

By giving up two third-period goals (one into an empty net), the Islanders (13-15-3) have been outscored 12-1 in the final 20 minutes during the past four games, including their current three-game losing streak.

“One little mistake cost us the game,” coach Jack Capuano said, referring to the ill-advised pinch by captain Mark Streit early in the third period that led to Brandon Sutter’s game-winner. “That’s sometimes the way it goes. But if we have an effort like that, we’re going to win hockey games.”

Ah yes, the effort. The thing Capuano had wanted more of, had pleaded with his team to conjure up — the will, the determination, the kind of play that can allow a team to outshoot the mighty Penguins, 35-25. But even without reigning MVP Evgeni Malkin — who missed his seventh straight game with a shoulder injury — and two of their best defensemen in Kris Letang and Tyler Kennedy, the Penguins (24-8-0) found a way to win their 11th in a row, staying perfect in the month of March.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of proving to ourselves we can play with those guys,” said Josh Bailey, who scored his fourth goal of the season late in the second period to give the Isles a 2-1 lead. “We know we can. It’s just a matter of being sharp.”

After watching leads of 1-0 and 2-1 evaporate, the Islanders still manage to find themselves three points out of the final playoff spot with 17 games remaining.

“We don’t too have too many left,” said John Tavares. “We can’t afford to keep not getting any points.”

If that is what happens, then it’s that same margin of three points that separates the Islanders from 14th in the conference. Where the Islanders sit is a precarious position, one in which they’re not just fighting themselves, but recent history.

“It’s all about confidence right now,” said Nabokov, who finished with 21 saves in his 26th start of the first 31 games. “We have to find it, and we have to find it quick.”