The writing is on the wall, and it's in Sharpie.

ELMONT, NY -- When New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello met with the media ahead of their game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Jan. 9, he was honest about his team at the halfway point. 

But he was also hopeful that his team could turn things around. 

"As far as the first half of the season, to say that we feel good at where we stand right now, I don't think we do,” Lamoriello said. “Having our team together the way we have and where we're at right now, it's all in our hands. I feel good about this team. I feel good about this coaching staff. I'll take full responsibility for both groups in where we stand.

"Everything is in reach, and it's up to us. You want it in your own hands. You don't want it in anybody's hands. We've got 42 games left now. We have to play one at a time and allow the end results to take care of itself."

The Islanders responded well to his words, knocking off Vegas 4-0 for an ultra-impressive win. Two days later, they defeated the Utah Hockey Club 2-1, extending their first three-game win streak of the season. 

However, after two straight losses at home to kick off a seven-game homestand, the Islanders are now eight points out of a wild-card spot.

With hunger and urgency not where it needs to be for a team on the outside looking in, the Islanders are making Lamoriello's trade deadline decisions much easier.

"You never want to think about that," Islanders alternate captain Bo Horvat said about Lamoriello potentially breaking the group up."Our job in here is not to focus on that and just to focus on what we have to do in here. I mean, it's not up to us at the end of the day, but it is at the same time, we have to start winning hockey games if we want everybody to stay right? 

"So it's on us at the end of the day to do what we can in here, on the on ice and in the room to gather this team and push for a playoff spot. I know it's not going to be easy but I mean, if there's any group that's going to do it...we're pretty relentless in here, and I definitely have confidence that we can pull through again."

To be fair to Horvat and the Islanders, their recent history proves that they are capable of defying the odds and sneaking into the playoffs, as we saw in 2023 and 2024.

However, the Islanders were not last in the Metropolitan Division or second-to-last in the Eastern Conference. They are trying to pass seven teams that are all playing solid hockey. 

The Islanders still have about 50 days until the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline, and a lot can happen between now and then.  

However, because of the NHL's two-week Four Nations Face-Off break, the Islanders have only 17 games left before the deadline.

That's not a lot of time to erase the point deficit, and because of the Islanders' inconsistencies, it seems like an impossible task. 

These last two losses seem to be the dagger, a season that has proven to Lamoriello that his team just doesn't have what it takes to be successful consistently the way it's constructed and it's time to focus on the future. 

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