Two points have been there for the New York Islanders most nights after 40 minutes of play. But the Islanders just haven't been able to get out of their own way.

The New York Islanders can't get out of their own way.

Heading into the third period up 4-2 against the New Jersey Devils to kick off a three-game road trip, the Islanders had the ability to finish the night in third place in the Metropolitan Division, extend their point streak to seven games and earn their first win against a 2023 Stanley Cup playoff team. 

Instead, the night ended with zero points after blowing their two-goal lead and allowing the game-winning tally with 23 seconds to play in regulation. 

"This one stings. This one sting a lot," Islanders head coach Lane Lambert said following the 5-4 loss. 

Their inability to hold leads has been mind-boggling. 

Tuesday night's loss was the eighth time in 21 games that the Islanders have given up the game-winner in the third period or allowed the game to be tied before falling in overtime. 

In Barry Trotz's last season as Islanders head coach, in which the team failed to make the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Islanders didn't blow a two-goal lead to ultimately lose until the final game of the regular season. 

To take it a step further, the Islanders have blown multi-goal leads seven times in 21 games and have been outscored 28-13 in the third period this season, 31-13 if we are counting overtime. 

Do you want to know the crazy part on top of the craziness?

Out of 32 teams, the Islanders have spent the least amount of time trailing in games (10:37 minutes), per MoreHockeyStats.com. 

The Boston Bruins (11:03), who are in third place in the league standings, and the New York Rangers (11:41), who are in second, round out the top three in this category. 

The Islanders' 1.100 points per game ranks 16th. 

So what is happening to the Islanders after 40 minutes?

On the ice, the answer is pretty straightforward.

Whatever the Islanders are doing through 40 minutes of play seemingly has gone out the window in the final 20. They have gone into defense mode, which isn't the wrong decision by any means. 

But what has given the Islanders issues is that when in defense mode, they are falling apart defensively.

They have spent way too much time in their own zone. When that happens, the Islanders players are getting caught on the ice too long, failing to hold their defensive-zone structure, and ultimately taking ill-advised penalties, putting immense pressure on the penalty kill, which currently sits 31st in the NHL at 70.06 percent. 

In Tuesday night's game, the Islanders headed to the power play up 4-3 at 9:43 of the third period. It was a chance to reclaim a two-goal lead or, if anything, burn two minutes off the clock.

Instead, their power play turned into 4-on-4 action 53 seconds later, as Mathew Barzal took an offensive-zone hooking penalty. 

That was the 10th time this season that the Islanders had wiped out their own power play, with Barzal being the culprit three times.

What made matters worse and ultimately led to the Devils' 4-4 equalizer was that Simon Holmstrom took a tripping penalty 21 seconds later, putting the Islanders down to three men and paying the price.

"It's been stick carelessness. It's four on four. We can't have a careless stick, and that's what happens, and next thing you know, the score is tied," Islanders coach Lane Lambert said. 

It's clear as day what the issues are, but the question is, why are the Islanders running into these issues on a nightly basis?

Sure, coaching can be blamed.

Lambert has struggled to get his group to play a full sixty-minute effort, and accountability hasn't been his bread and butter. But with bodies banged up on defense, Lambert can't bench a defenseman or make them a healthy scratch for the next game.

Lambert's coaching options are limited. 

With the forwards, Lambert isn't going to scratch a player like Barzal, given his potential to score goals or create goals, the same way he wouldn't bench a player like Jean-Gabriel Pageau or Casey Cizikas due to their ability to win a critical face-off that can change the outcome of a game. 

But if blowing leads continue, general manager Lou Lamoriello's hand will be forced to make a move he clearly doesn't want to have to make, whether that's moving on from Lambert or trading a player on the roster. 

The Islanders have all talked about how much they love playing for Lambert, but their actions and inability to play for him, for lack of better words, will be why a move needs to be made.

It seems to be the mental side of the game that's leading to destruction in the closing 20 minutes, not the physical side. 

Like a player who grips their stick to tight when on a scoring drought, the Islanders are all doing that in the third period. Players are overthinking and trying not to make mistakes, but in the process, they are doing exactly that. The penalties seem to be coming due to players trying to do too much or trying to garner an advantage, but the referees are getting them every time.

That's not to say some of the calls against the Islanders haven't been of the weaker variety. Still, at some point, an adjustment must be made because, if anything, the officiating has consistently called just about everything. 

The penalty kill, including Ilya Sorokin, hasn't been able to come up as clutch as the team has needed them to -- which isn't a fair ask, even if it's their job. 

It's the same thing as asking Sorokin to make 50 saves on a nightly basis because that's what the Islanders require to win games, even if that's an incredibly tall, unfair task.

That's just the reality, given how the Islanders are built. 

The defensemen's inability to protect the slot or the backdoor plays is the more concerning part of their third periods. 

Scott Mayfield, who is in the first of a seven-year deal, has struggled mightily, coughing up pucks too often and failing to tie up his man. Alexander Romanov has certainly made positive strides but has made the wrong reads at the wrong times. 

Adam Pelech (LTIR) and Ryan Pulock haven't looked quite like themselves this season.

But defense is not just about the defenders, as forwards need to get back and box out their men, which just hasn't happened at a high enough rate this season.

So what now?

What can be done to fix X and Y because it gets late quickly? 

Does a coaching change fix these problems? Does moving a key player out of the locker room wake the group up?

Ultimately, the players in the locker room are the players that will have to figure things out.

It's on them to buckle down, hold onto some leads, try to snap this dark spell that's been their Achilles' heels and build up the confidence that the third period can result in two points.

It's on Lambert to make the changes he needs to make to get his point across since whatever he's saying isn't getting through to them. 

At first, these dreaded third periods were a trend. But now, it just seems to be their identity. 

You can listen to Rosner talk Islanders hockey on Hockey Night in New York with co-host Sean Cuthbert on Sunday nights at 8 PM ET during the season.