Skidding Islanders look like a shell of themselves in concerning loss to Sharks

The New York Islanders suffered their fourth consecutive defeat on Monday night, falling 3-2 in an eight-round shootout to the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center. Ethan Sears writes that the performance was alarming as the Islanders struggled to maintain possession, gave up numerous scoring chances, and were heavily outplayed for long stretches despite getting an early goal from Ben Hutton.

San Jose prevailed after Ivar Stenberg scored the decisive shootout winner against goaltender Ilya Sorokin, who made 37 saves on the night. Head coach Pete DeBoer noted that the team lacked consistency, while captain Bo Horvat stressed that conceding high volumes of shots is unsustainable over the course of the season.