Islanders have done ‘little things’ during win streak

A week ago, when the Islanders lost two straight games in Florida and talked positively about how they played, it was easy to be dismissive.

Now? Those losses look to have been building blocks. And if the three games that followed — successive victories over the Rangers, Carolina and Colorado — are any indication, the finished product could be pretty impressive.

“I think the more you do the little things over and over again, maybe some of the little concepts, they become a little more second nature for sure,” Islanders coach Lane Lambert said following a 5-4 comeback win over the Avalanche on Saturday night. “That’s the key is to play without speaking, so to speak, or without hesitation.”

Lambert, a first-year head coach, has implemented new concepts since taking over, mainly centering around being more aggressive. Those paid dividends on Saturday, when the Islanders kept up with the fastest team in the league, the Avalanche, never looking overwhelmed even when they were down by three goals.

That is something that could never have been said about the Islanders last season, when their lack of speed was a death knell. This season, they seem to have figured out how to counter it.

“We’ve done a better job of that, no question,” Lambert said. “We’ve made a couple little adjustments and I think it’s helped our game and helped with handling speed, so to speak.”

“Just trying to gap up a little bit more,” Scott Mayfield said. “It starts with our forwards trying to get the pressure on them. We know they’re coming back so they have our back. You see the pinches here and there that probably shouldn’t have gone, but that’s learning.”

The learning curve was evident during their three-game losing streak that ran from Oct. 20 through last Sunday, and maybe that is a product of a new coach. It’s obvious from their victories over three of the better teams in the league, however, that the Islanders have taken a major step forward.

“I think we’re gelling together a little bit more,” Mayfield said. “You can see it in the last three games. The [New] Jersey effort wasn’t there. Then we get to Florida, I think we played a little bit more together, a little bit more battle, but didn’t get the result there so it’s nice to get these three results. That’s what we’ve been focusing on.

“There was a little bit of growing pain, but I think it’s coming together pretty well.”
The Islanders honored Josh Bailey with a pregame ceremony marking his 1,000th game, a milestone he reached Friday at Carolina.

The Avalanche were without forward Valeri Nichushkin (lower body) for the second straight game.