Islanders defense struggles in rough road loss to Jets

· New York Post

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — For the second time in three days, the Islanders played pond hockey. 

This time, it was on NHL ice, and didn’t make for quite as much of a feel-good story. 

“Anytime we play a hockey game and we need to score six to get two points, we need to be better defensively,” Anders Lee told The Post following Tuesday’s messy 5-4 loss to the Jets at Canada Life Centre. “Get in some lanes, box some guys out, get rid of some pucks in front, snag a save.” 

Winnipeg players Vladislav Namestnikov (7) and Nino Niederreiter (62) look on as the puck gets behind goaltender Ilya Sorokin for a second-period goal during the Islanders’ 5-4 road loss to the Jets on Jan. 13, 2025. NHLI via Getty Images

The Islanders were at least relieved that Matthew Schaefer finished the game after a pair of injury scares, the first prompted by the concussion spotter and the second after Schaefer took Luke Schenn’s shot off his right leg.

That relief, however, was blunted by the news after the game that Schaefer still had to be examined by team doctors before being completely cleared. 

Regardless of the situation with their superstar rookie, Tuesday wasn’t anything like the Islanders’ best. They were too wide open, not hard enough around the net and boxed out of their own crease in the decisive moments by a Winnipeg club that had won just two of its past 10 coming into the night. 

When the Islanders have struggled this year, those reasons have usually been the common denominator. If general manager Mathieu Darche opts to buy between now and the trade deadline, there’s his roadmap for what to look for. But Tuesday night, there was no help coming. 

After going down 3-0 in the second, it looked like the Islanders might work their way out of the mess. Anthony Duclair, Emil Heineman and Kyle MacLean scored consecutive goals to tie the game at 3-3 in a span of 3:58, Heineman doing so via penalty shot, and on another night, that momentum might have vaulted the Islanders into two points. 

On this one, not so. 

Just as quickly as the Islanders grabbed momentum, they lost it again. Dylan DeMelo’s shot from the top of the zone went through Nino Niederreiter’s screen to put Winnipeg back up just 1:02 after MacLean had tied it. Coach Patrick Roy’s challenge for goaltender interference on DeMelo’s goal failed, and the Islanders coach cited Rule 69.3 afterward to argue that Niederreiter had impeded Ilya Sorokin. 

Emil Heineman scores on a penalty shot against goalie Connor Hellebuyck during the second period of the Islanders’ loss to the Jets. Terrence Lee-Imagn Images

“Both feet were in the crease and Ilya cannot move up,” Roy said. “We thought his blocker kind of interfered a little bit with their guy. That’s the reason why we challenged.” 

For good measure, Adam Lowry boxed out Tony DeAngelo in the crease to tip in Neal Pionk’s shot with 20 seconds to go in the second to make it 5-3 going into the last intermission. 

In the last 20 minutes, the Islanders did tighten things up defensively far more than the free-flowing first 40. Unable to get any meaningful traffic around Connor Hellebuyck’s crease, though, their attempt at a push fell flat. 

Schaefer’s shot from the top of the zone made it 5-4 with 45 seconds left in regulation, but proved too little and too late. 

Truth be told, this was as sloppy a game as the Islanders had played all season. They bled two-on-ones, transitioned the puck poorly and most of all, gave more traffic than the George Washington Bridge at rush hour. 

“The fourth one, there was a point shot with a screen in front, the fifth one was the same thing. First one was a rebound in front of the net, we lost the battle,” Roy said. “So it’s more fundamentals than structure.” 

Mathew Barzal was beaten to Mark Scheifele’s rebound by Kyle Connor for the game’s opening goal. All Josh Morrissey had to do on Winnipeg’s second goal was float it through the mess of bodies with Adam Boqvist screening his own netminder after the Islanders failed to transition the puck.

And on Jonathan Toews’ 3-0 power-play goal, no one was near him at the crease. 

New York Islanders’ Anders Lee (27) and Winnipeg Jets’ Neal Pionk (4) battle for position in front of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) during the third period of their NHL hockey game in Winnipeg, Tuesday Jan. 13, 2026. AP

“I think a couple times, our clears maybe bit us a bit, getting the puck past the blue line, get it out,” MacLean said. “Especially at the end of our shifts. Overall there’s a couple breakdowns, couple shots from the point that got through. We’ll clean that up for Edmonton.”