Stan Fischler shares his thoughts after the Islanders fall 4-3 to the Blackhawks.

Chicago is known as "A Toddlin' Town," so when the New York Islanders toddled into The United Center last night, their hope was to emerge with a badly needed two points.

It was a reasonable expectation considering that the Blackhawks are not what you would call a Stanley Cup contender these days.

Nor even a playoff bound-team now that super-rookie Connor Bedard is sidelined with a broken jaw.

This meant that the Islanders just might exit with two points and get the engines going in the direction of a playoff drive like the one a year ago.

Ah, but the Blackhawks wouldn't let them, as the 4-3 score indicates… Seth Jones' sudden-death goal left the Isles motor in second gear with the point last night. Noah Dobson screened Ilya Sorokin on the decisive shot, leaving the Visitors suitably unhappy.

This can only be termed a dismaying 0-3-1 road trip with considerable questions about what the general staff needs to do next. The players are feeling the falling; that's for sure.

"It wasn't good enough," said Bo Horvat. "We have to figure out how to get wins and (so far) we just haven't done it. We have to start winning, or we'll see ourselves keep dropping. There's still a lot of games left."

After Jones' game-winner, Isles coach Lane Lambert's look of despair said it all, but the skipper had more -- very stinging -- comments thereafter. 

Here are Issues he attacked:

1. Decision-making: Below par.

2. Discerning play, alias "reads.." Not up to a winning standard.

3. Poor defense decisions, also known as "bad pinches."

"Careless play," stated Lambert. "Really, a lack of respect for the way the game should be played."

Don't kid yourself; that's powerful stuff.    

It can be read in a lot of ways, covering not only the entire team but, arguably, one could say that the coaching staff is involved as well. 

The Isles host Dallas tomorrow night at UBS, and it's a moot point whether -- based on Lambert's observations -- the high command makes any meaningful moves or not. Your guess is as good as mine because Lou Lamoriello is in charge of any changes that might be made.

Not that last night's one-pointer falls into the "Disaster" category as there's some value, if it's the value you're looking for and, hey, why not? Consider the following; if you're in what The Maven would term a "considering" mood.

* Comeback: Our guys were down 3-1 in the third period. Goals by Bo Horvat at 6:38 and then Kyle Palmieri at 12:30 made it a hockey game once again.

* They Salvaged A Point: Let's face it; the way this road trip was going, a point is better than no points.

* Brock Nelson got his 20th goal and still has the goods.

* Assistant Coach John MacLean's son Kyle made his debut and got 10:21 of playing time.

* Going Home: At this point in time, the friendly confines of UBS Center should be a balm.

* Still Alive: After 45 games, the Orange and Blue (19-15-11) sit sixth in the Met Division but close enough to climb into the playoff mix -- IF -- and I'll get to the keys in a moment.

But first, we must deal with the realistic negatives.

* Beat-able Blackhawks: Home crowd support or not, the Windy City bunch were playing without ace rookie Connor Bedard. In that sense, one can say that they were primed for a loss.

*  Isles Defense Not Up To Par: This, unfortunately, has been a constant minus.

* Injuries are not an excuse since only Ryan Pulock remains out; not that that doesn't hurt. It does. (See above.)

It's apparent that Ilya Sorokin cannot keep bailing out the club, or have I said that before? (I have.) He just played his 13th straight game -- most ever, according to stat-king Eric Hornick -- but right now there's no choice. Ilya is the guy. Period!

As for the effort, the Isles outshot Chi, but in the end, the home club made the shot that counted and far too fast for comfort.

The record says it all. The club is 3-7-2 since the Christmas break. That's the definition of a slump.

How and where the club goes from here should be as exciting as last night's back-and-forth game -- until Seth Jones' shot eluded Sorokin!