The New York Islanders identity so far in 2023-24 is all about blowing leads. Alexander Romanov and Ryan Pulock, who have been out there for a good portion of them, spoke on what they're seeing.

EAST MEADOW, NY -- The New York Islanders identity so far in 2023-24 is all about blowing leads. 

In 24 games, they've watched their leads evaporate 11 times in the third period, which includes twice in the third period against the Calgary Flames and Carolina Hurricanes. 

Islanders head coach Lane Lambert isn't ready to give up on the personnel he's putting out there late in games, whether it be the members of the penalty kill, the members of the 5-on-6 gameplan with the opponent's net empty, or the 5-on-5 units.

Six of the Islanders' 11 blown leads have come at 5-on-5 play, with defenseman Alexander Romanov and Ryan Pulock leading the pack, as they've both been on the ice for five of the six. 

The Hockey News asked Lambert Thursday morning about his late-game personnel decisions and if he thinks those are the players that need to get the job done or if he's contemplating some changes.

"Those are the guys that are put out. Those are the guys that have to get it done. Those are the guys that have gotten the job done before," Lambert said. "These things go in cycles & we'll see where we go from here."

This is rather similar to the Islanders not changing up their top power-play unit last season when Noah Dobson was struggling mightily at the point.

Following Thursday's morning skate, The Hockey News spoke with Romanov and Pulock, to get their thoughts on what they've seen late in the thirds, given how often they've been out there when things have gone south. 

"Sometimes, just not good mistakes that we are making in the third period. I don't feel that we relax after the first two periods," Romanov said. "When we lose a game, it's just bad luck, and too many mistakes were made."

Romanov then made it clear that they have to stop failing to make the players that are in front of them. 

“If we block the shot, we [have to] block the shot. If we can clear the zone, we [have to] clear the zone. If we can make the pass, we [have to] make it 100%, and it should be on the tape," Romanov said. We'll try to play our best, and we just want to try to make the best decision on the ice, [work on] communication. We want to keep our heads up, and it's not time to be sad or self-centered."

"It's things that we can fix."

In an exclusive interview with THN, Pulock broke everything down and gave his honest opinion on their issues with containing leads, like this team used to do. 

"It's hard. I think sometimes you have to really go back and dissect it a little bit. But, I think we can maybe do a little better job of staying aggressive and not sitting back," Pulock said. "Maybe we're getting caught a little hesitant, not wanting to get caught, not wanting to make a mistake, and I think sometimes it gives teams a little more space and time and gives them a little more time in our zone."

THN asked him to dive deeper into what he means when he says "aggressiveness". 

"Yeah, like gaps and ending plays in the neutral zone, stepping on plays," Pulock said. "Sometimes you get in that rut where it happens a few times, and you feel like, okay, I can't pinch here, I can't do this because I don't want anything to go wrong. And then sometimes, I think that you end up sitting back a little bit, and now we're giving them zone entries a little too easily, and then you end up playing in your zone, and then that's when obviously bad things can happen."

THN then asked if he bears a certain level of responsibility for the failures. 

"It's a collective group. I think, obviously, it's five guys out there at once, and just everyone, I think, just needs to focus on getting that swagger back, that confidence back, and having that feeling of when you get a lead, just nothing else matters, we're locking this down," Pulock said. "I think when you can play with that mentality a little bit it helps, but you got to gain that. You got to earn that mentality.

"You can't really just let it happen. And we just got to simplify a little bit. We got to take our minds off of some of the negatives and just go out there and just keep playing our game. I think we do a lot of good things for a good portion of the game, and then we're letting one or two things affect us. I think it's just resetting our minds in here and just having that confidence when we're in that position and just going out there and doing the job."

The Islanders penalty kill is something that's turned a page over the last four games, having been successful on 10 of their last 11 shorthanded situations. 

So, what's the difference between killing penalties at 4-on-5 and stopping a team who has the extra attacker on?

"It's a different structure," Pulock explained. "We have game plans. Everyone's on the same page in that aspect. I think sometimes little mistakes happen, and little breakdowns happen. I think we have a game plan. We know it works. We believe in it. We just got to bear down and execute a little better."

After blowing a two-goal lead and losing in regulation with 23 seconds to play against the New Jersey Devils, to blowing a lead with 2.5 seconds to play in Carolina before an overtime win, the Islanders finally held on to a lead Saturday night in Florida. 

It was a game the Islanders certainly wanted to build on against the Sharks on Tuesday, but they did the exact opposite. 

"Anytime you blow a lead, it's not something that you want to happen," Pulock said. "It does happen. But it's on us for allowing that. I mean, obviously, teams are going to make a push there. They're going to put their best offensive players out there late in the game. They got their goalie pulled. They're full of desperation. And I think we need to find another level of matching that desperation and exceeding it. 

"Sometimes it's just that little fraction that makes a difference, and we know that in here. We've talked on it. We believe in everything we're doing. Just a factor of every single guy just executing a little sharper and just one more level that can make a difference. I mean, obviously, every guy in here... we don't want this to happen. It's not a good feeling. It's not a good situation. It's on us as players to be better in those situations. But sometimes, when you get in that rut, it's like, you feel like whatever you do, it doesn't matter. It's somehow binding, but that's when you just have to pick it up and work that much harder and kind of correct that."