Even when it became clear the Islanders might not have had their best on Saturday, the formula to getting back on the winning side was clear.
The Islanders could at least possess the puck and forecheck against the Senators, and they churned their way to a lead after two periods.
But when the final horn sounded, they’d blown a late lead on home ice against a non-contender, losing 4-3 in overtime to Ottawa on Brady Tkachuk’s game-winning goal, and putting their hold on a playoff spot at risk in so doing.
The offense that abandoned the Islanders in Los Angeles and Buffalo was a little more apparent back at UBS Arena, but not so much as to quell concern.
After going two straight games without scoring, the Islanders had their legs under them at the beginning of this one.
They forechecked and worked below the hash marks, spending considerable time in the offensive zone. The first line — in particular Mat Barzal — was noticeable on nearly every shift.
The net presence coach Patrick Roy wanted, though, never quite showed itself.
And for all their offensive zone time, the Islanders didn’t put a whole lot of pressure on Joonas Korpisalo, instead being kept to the outside while their energy waned as the afternoon grew longer.
Those factors conspired to make this game a lot harder than it needed to be for the home side, which twice had the lead and wasted it.
Going into the final period, the Islanders held a 2-1 advantage after Kyle Palmieri’s go-ahead goal, but they knew they would need more to put away the Senators.
Instead, they went into a defensive shell and got the same results that strategy yielded so often earlier in the season.
It took just 6:35 for Ridley Greig to tie the game, finishing Tim Stutzle’s feed on an odd-man rush.
Then, just 15 seconds after Noah Dobson’s penalty for delay of game, Tkachuk wired in a one-timer from the slot to give Ottawa their first lead of the game with 7:46 to go.
The top-six that had sparked a winning streak were abandoned during the third period as well, with Palmieri and Barzal switching lines while Brock Nelson went to Bo Horvat’s right to accommodate Palmieri on his left.
That configuration started to produce some chances, and when Mathieu Joseph went off for hooking with 1:50 to go, it was on the power-play unit to score for the first time since Sunday’s win over Anaheim.
That is exactly what it did, with Horvat’s one-timer from above the right circle tying the game with 37 seconds to go.
But instead of keeping their momentum in the extra period, the Islanders gave away a power play of their own, as Horvat held Stutzle.
Tkachuk then finished an odd-man rush after Adam Pelech tripped with the Senators entering the zone to end the game.
In a first period where the Islanders had the ice tilted for most of the 20 minutes, the only goal came, ironically, from the fourth line.
Matt Martin caught Korpisalo way out of position defending Cal Clutterbuck on the right post and wrapped it around to score into an empty net 4:27 into the match.
But when the Isles couldn’t build on the lead, Ottawa eventually took advantage.
After Pierre Engvall lost a puck battle in the neutral zone to give the Senators a three-on-two rush, Tkachuk’s wrister tied it at one at 11:46 of a messy second period for the Isles.
Palmieri would, however, put them back in the lead before the second intermission, banking the puck off Korpisalo after Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s cross-ice feed to make it 2-1.
It wasn’t pretty.
But it might have been enough.
Instead, the Islanders are holding a three-game losing streak with a slate of tough opponents coming this week: the Rangers, Hurricanes, Red Wings and Jets.
They’ve done a lot of work to get back into the playoff race.
But if they can’t find their game soon, it will be undone just as fast.
