The New York Islanders have a penalty problem. Here's what head coach Lane Lambert said about those penalties, the penalty kill, and his thoughts on accountability at this point.

SEATTLE, WA -- The New York Islanders have a penalty problem.

On this losing streak, which the Vancouver Canucks extended to six games (0-4-2) Wednesday night with a come-from-behind 4-3 overtime win, the Islanders have found themselves shorthanded 20 times.

Eleven of those 20 penalties have come in the third period. 

A penalty kill that was so strong a season ago has been putrid on this run, killing off just 11 of the 20 (55%). 

"Just too many penalties and not enough kills," Lambert said ahead of Thursday night's puck drop against the Seattle Kraken. "And it's kind of been a trend if you think about it the last few games. There are plenty of games that we played very, very well 5-on-5, and deserved potentially more. We need to put the puck in the back of the net [...] at the end of the day, the results aren't there. So it's it's a little tough to swallow."

What Lambert has noted about the penalty kill is that they've been too passive and that when opponents' power plays find twine, his penalty kill is sitting back rather than being aggressive, which just provides more opportunities for failure. 

"Like the third period, if you look at the first penalty when Mayfield took a penalty, how much more aggressively were jumping on them, and the kill was was a pretty good kill," Lambert said. "But yeah, it's just a mindset now. 

"Again, like I said, sometimes we're gonna get scored on, and the tendency is to back off, and we can't have that tendency. But it's a long year. There's a lot of games left, and there's a lot of penalty kills left. So our penalty killing has typically been good. And we'll get back to where we need to be."

The problem for the Islanders, and one that has undoubtedly affected the penalty-kill units' ability to be effective, is that four of the club's top-six penalty-minute getters over the last six games are penalty killers. 

Cal Clutterbuck, Scott Mayfield, and Noah Dobson have taken three penalties each over this skid.

Not far behind are Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Mathew Barzal, and Anders Lee, who have each taken two trips to the penalty box.

"It's very difficult," Lambert said regarding penalty killers being in the box. "Those aren't good scenarios for you."

That means other players, who may have experience but aren't the top guys, are being relied upon heavily, especially in key moments. 

What that also does is put more pressure on the netminders, as there's a more likely chance that the structure will break down with new faces in new places. 

So what can Lambert do to get these penalties, especially the undisciplined ones, to stop?

The balance of holding players accountable but also wanting to ice the best possible 23 players is a difficult task.

Just look back to the game against the Boston Bruins, where Lambert scratched Pierre Engvall. Was it a justified move? Sure, given that Engvall had a costly turnover against the Minnesota Wild two nights prior.

But did it backfire immensely for New York against Boston, playing a part in the defeat?

You bet. 

At the same time, the undisciplined penalties have to end if the Islanders are going to stop the skid, and Lambert has only one real option if things continue at this point. 

"Really, the biggest tool a coach has is ice time," Lambert said. 

When asked if he was considering going that route, he gave the only response he could.

"I don't think there's any other consideration you can have at this point in time, the way it's going."

That quote can be understood as cutting minutes during the game or scratching players altogether. 

The problem is, with the Islanders spiraling the way they are, it's a rather difficult move to cut minutes for a player like Mathew Barzal or Brock Nelson if mistakes are made. 

The Islanders have averaged two goals per game on their losing streak and have allowed 4.16 per game. 

That's just the reality of the situation, and at this point, Lambert has to hope that the penalty problem decreases soon, or tough decisions will have to be made before other decisions come first.