Frustration quickly building as Islanders look to prevent season from spiraling

BUFFALO — It’s only human for the Islanders to be frustrated right now. 

But that is not going to help them score goals. 

The Islanders are walking into Buffalo for Friday’s match against the Sabres in desperate need of not just a victory, but a goal-scoring outburst that can help prove to themselves as much as anybody else that their 3-5-2 start is going to turn around. 

“Are we frustrated? Yeah, we are,” coach Patrick Roy said after a 2-0 shutout loss in Columbus on Wednesday marked the fourth time this season the Islanders were held without a goal. “It’s normal. We’re here to win hockey games. And like our fans, we want to win those games.” 

The mental side of a losing streak — and it’s three losses in a row and four in five for the Islanders — is always tough to deal with, and it appears to be hampering them at the moment. 

“I think naturally, frustration is a thing,” Ryan Pulock said before Wednesday’s loss. “There’s two ways you can handle that. You can thrive off it a little bit and push yourself or you can go into a bit of a shell, maybe. I don’t see that part of it. I think guys aren’t breaking sticks after plays and whatnot. Guys are sticking with it and I think it’s only a matter of time that it’s gonna change for us. You gotta look at it from a positive standpoint, the chances that we’re creating and the zone time that we’ve had.” 

That begs the question: How are the Islanders meant to thrive off negative emotion? 

“I think you just push yourself that much harder,” Pulock said. “For myself, when things aren’t going well, you just find a way to work harder. You find a way to do everything you do with more detail. And I think right now it’s a bit of those little details that maybe is costing us a little bit. 

“You just have to find a way to find another gear, find another level in everything you’re doing. Sometimes just with your mind, having the right outlook on it. Telling yourself you’re gonna score. I think if you can believe in it, you’re gonna go out there and do it.” 

The four times the Islanders have been shut out this month ties November 2011 for the most in one month in club history, per team statistician Eric Hornick.

Their eight points through 10 games also marks their worst start to the season in terms of points since 2016-17.