It says a lot about where the Islanders are that there was no attempt, not one, from their players to try to soft-pedal Friday’s loss, because this was a night when there could have been. Had they tried to go with the clichés — “We did a lot of good things,” “If we play like that every night, I like our chances” — you would have understood where they were coming from.
The Islanders had plenty of possession, plenty of chances. Their penalty kill was excellent. The top six started to roll after Mat Barzal and Bo Horvat were reunited midway through the second period and the 3-2 final certainly gave a better picture of the game than the 3-0 lead the Kings held earlier on.
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Really, Los Angeles did not even look like the better team for most of the night.
Yet, here was Emil Heineman, who scored both the goals and came within an inch of a third, afterward:
“We have to acknowledge the point of time we’re in the season here, how important these games are. To not be ready when the puck drops is not good enough.”
And here was Horvat: “We can’t keep putting ourselves in that position. It physically and mentally wears on you.”
New York Islanders Center Anders Lee (27) pressures Los Angeles Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper during the third period at UBS Arena on March 13, 2026. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
The Islanders have been digging holes for themselves since the NHL returned from the Olympic break, and for the most part, they’ve done a pretty good job at climbing out. They nearly did Friday too, and for just about the entire third period, everyone inside UBS Arena thought they would.
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Failing to, though, seemed to awaken the Islanders to the reality of the situation.
They came into the night hoping to pass the Penguins for second in the Metro; they exited it hoping that by the end of Saturday — when the Blue Jackets face the Flyers and the Islanders play the Flames — Columbus has not pulled ahead of the Islanders on the tiebreaker.
Indeed, there is a scenario where the Islanders wake up Sunday morning outside the playoff picture for the first time since Dec. 4. That would be the ultimate smack to a team for whom the postseason has taken on an inevitable feel even while in reality the Blue Jackets have rapidly gained ground over the last couple weeks.
One loss isn’t the end of the world but more urgency is warranted, and it certainly was Friday, when they had plenty of possession in the first period, but got just three shots on goal out of 22 attempts and made a series of mistakes to hand the Kings a 3-0 lead.
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There was Scott Mayfield’s attempt that led straight to the Kings’ opening goal when Trevor Moore blocked his shot and came in unimpeded on a breakaway to score.
The two other goals the Kings scored in the first — one from Anze Kopitar off a rebound and the other from Adrian Kempe off the rush — did not come in that fashion, but Kempe’s goal came on the heels of an offensive-zone shift in which the Islanders just could not get a shot through, and Kopitar’s right after a power play.
“Instead of having the momentum, we gave them the momentum,” said coach Patrick Roy, who was not quite as self-critical as his players.
“Too complicated,” Heineman said, opting for that phrasing instead of saying the Islanders had played too fancy. “We have a lot of skill. We’re losing pucks and they’re just flying over us.”
New York Islanders Carson Soucy reacts during the second period against the Los Angeles Kings. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
The Islanders went into the third period down 3-1, but with momentum decidedly on their side having dominated the 10 minutes leading into intermission, with Heineman scoring and Anders Lee having a few close calls.
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Given that, and given the Islanders’ proclivity for the dramatic, it hardly counted as a surprise that Heineman scored for a second time just 3:38 into the second period, this time tipping in Matthew Schaefer’s shot to make cut it to 3-2.
The Islanders proceeded to play some of their best offensive-zone hockey of the year. Shift after shift they were up ice, pinching down the walls, holding the puck in, wearing out the Kings. Heineman nearly completed the hat trick with a third deflection that went off the bar.
New York Islanders Ilya Sorokin makes a save during the second period against the Los Angeles Kings. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
It looked like a matter of time before the Islanders would tie the game.
And then the time ran out, with the score still frozen at 3-2 and the Islanders left to reckon with it.
“It wasn’t enough at the start,” Horvat said. “We just didn’t play a good 60 minutes.”
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