from Laura Albanese of Newsday,

The calendar says there’s still time. The standings say the Islanders have a chance. But though they have 29 more games to eke their way into the playoffs, Wednesday night proved that it might be getting late very early for this Islanders team.

The Islanders gave up five goals a night after they gave up four, and struggled to put together any semblance of a threat in a frustrating 5-0 loss to the Maple Leafs. The Leafs dominated on defense, clogging up shooting lanes and incapacitating the Isles’ first two lines.

It doesn’t make it any better that Toronto has been floated as a possible landing spot for John Tavares, should he decide not to sign a contract extension, and the Leafs — fast, disciplined, and suddenly a more formidable team than a recent slump would indicate — sure looked like a lot of fun to play for.

“It’s really unacceptable the level we’re playing at,” Tavares said. “We’re not going to win many hockey games or really be in it the way we played the last couple of nights . . . The way we’ve played the last couple nights is not even close to what we need to be to get where we need to get to . . . It’s hard to be at a certain standard every night, especially in this league, with how competitive it is. We’ve just got to be a lot better.”

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