The loudest cheer at the sparsely filled Nassau Coliseum last night came when the scoreboard showed Derek Jeter’s home run against the Angels.
And at the end of the latest Islanders’ loss, a 4-1 defeat to the Sharks, what was left of the crowd booed.
That’s what happens when a team doesn’t win through its first six games, which is how the Isles have started this season.
“It’s the same thing every game,” Martin Biron said after the team fell to 0-3-3. “I’m tired of doing the same things. At some point, we’re gonna have to respond to that and find that thing that makes us win games.”
Once again, the Isles showed flashes of solid play, outshining the Sharks throughout the first period. They outshot San Jose, 19-8.
But the tide turned quickly in the second after Matt Moulson gave the Isles a 1-0 lead in the first by deflecting a Kyle Okposo shot. It was the surprising Moulson’s fourth goal of the season.
The Isles failed to capitalize on scoring chances and took three penalties — two of which led to goals.
“We basically gave them the lead in the second,” Josh Bailey said of the period in which Ryan Vesce scored the game-winner off of the first of two assists from Joe Thornton — who also added a goal. “We did some good things in the third, but by then it was too late.”
They wound up with just 13 more shots the rest of the game.
Now the Isles, having just come off one of their worst seasons, are looking to avoid a repeat.
“I think the hard part our team is having right now is understanding that we’re not gonna be an explosive offensive team,” coach Scott Gordon said. “If we think it’s gonna be easy, it’s not. That’s not the makeup of our team. We can’t be the reason the opposition turns their game around. The biggest thing is learning how to win.”
They would like that lesson to come soon.