The New York Islanders were accountable following their loss to Minnesota.
The reason for a failed two points should never be effort, but that was the unacceptable culprit for the New York Islanders on Monday night.
New York, who had just lost a heart-breaker Saturday night in Nashville, had the opportunity to rebound against a Minnesota Wild team who were amid a four-game skid and had just fallen 6-0 to the Arizona Coyotes Saturday night on home ice before facing the elite Winnipeg Jets Tuesday night.
After that game, the Wild had a player's only meeting. Here's what Mats Zuccarello said after:
"Our home fans, they're here every time supporting us. They deserve more than that. We all know it."
It was a statement that put the onus on the players as they came out hard against the Islanders, winning 5-0.
The Islanders didn't just fail to match the Wild's offense but failed miserably to match their effort. All of it was left in Nashville.
Islanders fans have been preaching for accountability, and that's all they were, as no one minced words after a loss that put them at 2-5-0 in January.
"We were fucken bad," Cal Clutterbuck said to Ethan Sears of the New York Post.
"We didn't do anything well at all tonight," Islanders captain Anders Lee said. "They were on top of us quite a bit, and we couldn't get to our game. I think our effort needs to be elevated. We need to have a better showing. We gotta get pissed off."
This isn't the first time the Islanders have played uninspiring hockey. The club lost 7-0 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 27th, which was probably their worst game of the season.
This one, for sure, was their second-worst performance.
"I didn't think we were very clean," Brock Nelson said. "Things kind of snowballed from there, and we didn't really get to a grind game or generate much possession and get to the neutral and into their zone really for most of the game until the last little bit there, so it wasn't a well-played game by us.
"I don't think there's any doubt in this group. It's disappointing, but I don't think there's any bigger issue, and the positive for us right now is that we get to turn it and we get to flip it right away and get back to it against a good team tomorrow. So it's gonna be more of the same, and we have to be considerably better."
The team's struggles began with the opening face-off, as Islanders head coach Lane Lambert didn't think his players were committed enough.
"I just didn't like our effort at all," Islanders head coach Lane Lambert said. "I didn't think we were 100 percent committed to playing the game the right way right from the start, and it just kind of snowballed as we went along. We've had a lot of good efforts this year, but certainly, it's unacceptable."
"We got outworked and outcompeted."
As for what Lambert needs to see against the Jets Tuesday night at 8 PM ET: "I would certainly hope that you know we have a much better effort."
Many people were blaming Lambert for this team not being ready to go, but this is the NHL. No player should have to be told to give 100 percent.
Bo Horvat, despite wearing a letter in his first full season with the Islanders, seems to always take accountability, regardless of the circumstances, and also put the onus on his teammates, as Zuccarello did.
"At the end of the day, we need our best players to be our best players. Tonight, that just wasn't the case," Horvat said. They were ready to go, and we weren't. That's on the guys in this room.
"At the end of the day, I gotta be a lot better and figure out a way to get the team going and get ourselves going. Obviously, that was unacceptable tonight and embarrassing."
Actions speak louder than words, and while New York said all the right things after being embarrassed, the result will be the same against the Jets Tuesday night if they come out as flat and uninspired as they did Monday.