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Isle drop crucial battle with Bruins, out of playoff spot
The question in front of the Islanders is less about what exactly led to the deep stinging that resulted from the 2-1 defeat to the Bruins on Saturday night at Barclays Center, a brutal loss that allowed Boston to leapfrog these Brooklynites for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Instead, the question for the Islanders (35-27-12) over their final eight games — now two points behind the Bruins (39-30-6) with one game in hand, and one point clear of the Lightning — is if they are a team that is capable of consistently winning these grind-it-out, simple, often downright ugly affairs.
Because the answer to that question will determine when their summer starts.
“I do, I really do,” interim head coach Doug Weight said when asked if his team is built to win these types of games, as they were coming off two big road wins against the Rangers and Penguins.
“When I say I think we’re a playoff team, not because we’re just good enough, I think we’re built for that type of game,” Weight said. “And you’re not going to win them all. It’s a tough one to lose. Now you start thinking, ‘Jeez, we were hot at home, two really big wins on the road and this really would have validated and vaulted us up.’ But we’re right there.”
The feel in the locker room was hardly somber, as it seemed the ringing from the crossbar was still in the air, captain John Tavares nailing it with a shot a power play with 6:30 remaining in the game that would have tied the score. Instead, the Isles finished 0-for-6 on the man-advantage and their playoff hopes took a big hit.
“I’ll think about it tonight, for sure,” Tavares said. “Of course you think about them.”
There were only a few players on either side that had any jump in their legs, but Isles rookie Josh Ho-Sang was one of them. Yet it took Weight until the final power play before he sent him out there with the first unit — a decision he regretted.
“I probably should’ve put [HoSang] out there earlier than the
sixth power play,” Weight said, as Ho-Sang had set up Tavares’ crossbar shot with a great look from the extended goal line. “He had some good jump on the PP and we were just flat in every other aspect.”
The electric 21-year-old has three goals and eight points in his first 13 NHL games, and his exuberance — if not his downright offensive production — is something they are going to need down the stretch.
“It’s exciting to be a part of. I don’t think the NHL can get much harder than this,” Ho-Sang said. “For me, I don’t think there’s a better way.”
Tavares had staked his team to a 1-0 lead at 10:05 of the first when he weaved between defenders and beat goalie Anton Khudobin with a wrist shot from the high slot, notching his 28th of the season. But the Bruins tied it just 36 seconds later when Riley Nash got his first of two goals on the night, taking advantage of a neutral-zone turnover from rookie defenseman Scott Mayfield and burying a shot passed goalie Thomas Greiss nearside.
The winner was just as undramatic, as some soft defensivezone coverage gave Nash just enough room to get a shot off from the right circle, beating Greiss high at 4:12 of the third.
But that was enough for the Islanders playoff chances to take a big hit, allowing their immediate competition to advance while they retreated. More of that, and the summer is going to come sooner rather than later.
“I don’t think we were tired,” Weight said. “I think we were a little lethargic at times, but I don’t think they had their best game either. I think it was just a muck-it-up type of game and somebody was going to win it with a goal, and they did.”