Brock Nelson returned to the line up and the
Islanders played hard again, they were able to create turnovers and play with a
physical edge to their game, but failed to finish on their offensive
opportunities. Per Islanders.nhl.com, Josh
Bailey said, “We didn’t do enough to create a lot of
chances,” Bailey continued, “We had 16 shots and you’re not going to win many
games with 16 shots.” Josh Bailey had a
clear cut breakaway chance late in the second period that could have changed
the momentum in the game, but like most of those opportunities this season,
yielded nothing. “The Bailey chance
shorthanded would have put us right back in the game,” head coach Jack Capuano
sad. “But it didn’t have eyes (for the net)." Quick's back up, Ben Scrivens was expected to get the start, but 3rd
stringer, Martin Jones who is an AHL call up, got the start. It was his second NHL game (1st W vs ANA 3-2
on 12/3) and he made 16 saves, getting his first NHL shut out and a 3-0 Los
Angeles win for his efforts.
The Isles PK was strong, going 5 of 5, but
struggled offensively on the PP and went 0 for 4. The Islanders were out shot 24-16 in the game. Kevin Poulin was 16/18 with a .913Sv%.
The Islanders have a record of 8-17-5 in 30
games, losing 9 in a row and going 1-7-2 in their last 10 games. They have a -29 goal differential. Only Florida and Buffalo are worse with a
-30 & -40 respectively. The
Islanders rank 15th of 16 teams in the east and look lost and without a serious
game plan. They had another closed door
meeting after the loss, just after Captain John Tavares criticized his team's
recent efforts. What must have been
said in that meeting? Were guys called
out? Were they made accountable and
given a warning?
My position on their problems with lack of
leadership and coaching is no secret.
The team that made such a run last season has many of the same pieces,
but something has reverted to a psyche that goes back even farther than the slumps
of the last few years. These current
Islanders have a fragile ego and have no confidence in their defense or
goaltending. The multiple levels of
scoring that were previously the teams strength have gone away almost
completely. Their special teams are erratic
and random with their overall style of play, often dictated by their
opposition. All too often, they spot
their opponents a multi goal lead and fall short of a strong rally to finish
the game. It seems they are unable to
prepare and maintain a game plan, especially when things start getting away
from them. All these things are far to
damaging to build a winning culture.
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