Ryan Pulock chose his words carefully on Thursday night when asked, after a 4-0 loss to the Blues in St. Louis, if the Islanders are where they need to be mentally.

A 4-2 loss in Winnipeg, the Islanders third in a row and fifth in sixth games, is beyond silver linings for a team that could not find a way to halt its slow descent down the standings.

Islanders players feel responsible for Lou Lamoriello making a change behind the bench and hiring Patrick Roy as the teams new head coach.

The Islanders have been carried by their stars all year, so maybe it is not surprising that as their top players have slowed down, so too has the team.

Whatever you make of the Islanders, no one who has been around their dressing room can doubt even for a minute that this group very much believes in its own capabilities.

The 23-year-olds name figures to start coming up in trade rumors after the holiday break, as he has become a frequent healthy scratch for the Islanders while playing under a one-year deal.

The Islanders nearly finished off their homestand in perfect fashion. But the Bruins stopped their winning streak at four, coming back four different times to beat the Islanders 5-4 in a shootout following David Pastrnaks game-winner in the fourth round.

Thirty games into the season, the Islanders have played just 11 games that were decided by more than one goal. Only three of those were victories.

The Islanders have played their best hockey of the season over the past couple weeks and might have gotten their best win of the season Saturday night.