And that is what you would call a hard landing.

Maybe the Islanders were due for a letdown game after winning six of seven on a road trip that crushed any reasonable expectation.

Still, a snoozer of a Saturday afternoon performance at UBS Arena that ended in a 2-1 defeat to a struggling Blues team was not the ideal return home the Islanders had envisioned.

Their hope had been that finishing the trip on Eastern Time would help the Islanders avoid the dead legs and tired game that usually comes when a team returns home after a long stretch on the road.

Go back to the drawing board on that theory.

If this was a video game, the Islanders’ internet connection would have been lagging.

Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin lets in a goal in the second period of a loss on Nov. 22, 2025. Robert Sabo

See Full Page