LOS ANGELES — Things have gone wrong all season for the Islanders, but Saturday night’s problems in a 5-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena seemed extreme.
The defensive communication was abysmal. Semyon Varlamov, who missed training camp and has endured a rocky season because of injuries, COVID-19 and Ilya Sorokin’s emergence as the No. 1 goalie — and who could be moved before the NHL trade deadline on March 21 — was understandably shaky in his first start in nine games.
But most alarmingly, top-line center Mathew Barzal could be lost with a left knee injury.
Barzal went to the ice screaming in pain after contact with Phillip Danault along the left wall at 11:49 of the second period. He left the ice not putting any weight on his left skate but returned for one shift at 14:46. He fell again as he tried a quick stop and left the ice slowly to return to the Islanders’ room.
Defenseman Zdeno Chara also exited at 10:35 of the second period and did not return.
The Islanders (19-21-8), 19 points behind the Washington Capitals for the final playoff spot, will continue this five-game road trip against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night.
The Kings (29-17-7) won their fifth in a row and for the second straight night with coach Todd McLellan in COVID-19 protocol and assistant Trent Yawney running the bench after Friday’s 4-1 win in Anaheim. Cal Petersen stopped 26 shots.
Varlamov made 30 saves.
"He’s been playing catch-up, choppy hockey all year," coach Barry Trotz said. "Hopefully he gets to play a little bit here and show the type of goalie that he is for us. Because he’s a top-end goaltender in the NHL."
In Varlamov’s previous start, he stopped 28 of 30 shots in a 3-0 loss to the expansion Seattle Kraken at UBS Arena on Feb. 2, one of the Islanders’ most dismal efforts this season.
Trotz called Thursday’s 4-3 shootout loss in San Jose perhaps the Islanders’ best game of the season as they took a season-high 47 shots. But there was no carryover. Saturday’s first period ranked as one of their worst.
Danault made it 1-0 at 3:43 of the period as the top line of Barzal, Zach Parise and Kyle Palmieri, along with the defense pair of Chara and Noah Dobson, allowed him to be wide open below the left circle. Trevor Moore shielded the puck from Dobson — drawing a delayed call — and then slid it to the open Danault.
Defenseman Matt Roy was left open in almost the same spot for a 2-0 lead at 7:51 of the period, this time with defenseman Ryan Pulock on the ice with Chara along with Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s line with Anders Lee and Oliver Wahlstrom. Viktor Arvidsson nearly made it a three-goal advantage at 16:16 of the period as he was allowed to skate into the slot unchecked, but his shot hit the crossbar.
While those goals weren’t Varlamov’s fault, he did look bad on Quinton Byfield’s goal to make it 3-0 just 56 seconds into the second period. An errant pass from Cal Clutterbuck led to an icing and Byfield pushed the puck forward off the offensive-zone faceoff. It deflected off Clutterbuck and slowly trickled through Varlamov’s pads.
Brendan Lemieux’s shot as he kept the puck on a two-on-one rush also went through Varlamov’s pads to make it 4-1 with 28.3 seconds left in the second period. Lee had made it 3-1 at 9:47 off a crisp pass from Dobson on a sequence started by Barzal’s patience.
Pageau pulled the Islanders within 4-2 at 18:44 of the third period, but Moore quickly added an empty-netter.
