TROUBLE BRUIN
The lopsided history of the Islanders’ matchup with the Bruins adds some insult, as do the new batch of injuries.
But really, the Islanders getting beat down, 5-0, at the hands of Boston on Tuesday night at the Coliseum was more about them. It was more about how such a lackluster effort can pop up at such a crucial time in the season, and what that says about the Islanders going forward.
“It’s not ideal,” captain Anders Lee told The Post. “Every so often in this league, you get humbled, you get put it your place. And tonight we did. We got knocked down pretty hard.”
Yet this is commonplace when Boston comes to town. The Islanders (4224-7) haven’t beaten the Bruins (44-20-9) at home since Nov. 2, 2013, a stretch of eight games. And after the Capitals beat the Devils 4-1 in Newark, first place in the Metropolitan Division belongs to Washington yet again.
Making matters worse was the fact that forwards Valtteri Filppula and Cal Clutterbuck could not return to the game due to upper-body injuries. The organization as a whole is shallow at center, so if Filppula is gone for a while, that could be a large problem.
But for now, the Islanders must try to swallow the fact they came out lacking energy, forget execution. They mustered only 13 shots on net to gift Tuukka Rask his fourth shutout of the season, the lowest shot total the Islanders have put up at home since Halloween of 2000 (oddly enough, a 4-2 win over the Bruins).
Following this past weekplus, when the Islanders got their game back on track by winning three of the previous four and five of seven, just about solidifying a playoff berth, it’s easy to wonder if there were any sense of complacency, exacerbated by an aggressive Boston team already in playoff mode.
“I don’t think there was complacency tonight,” Lee said. “We were just tentative with the puck. We were slow with our decisions, slow with our puck movement. That caused us to turn the puck over, and they capitalized. And then when you’re already tentative, it’s really hard to flip the switch.”
If the Islanders have been consistently good at anything this year, it has been their ability to bring a hardworking effort. But they were swallowed alive right from the beginning when the Bruins went up 1-0 just 1:12 into the game on the first of two goals from Sean Kurlay.
Matt Martin tried to stir things up by fighting towering Boston captain Zdeno Chara at the start of the second period, but the heartbeat lasted only until Clutterbuck whiffed on a pass while trying to break out in front of his own net, making it easy for Noel Acciari to snap a quick shot underneath Robin Lehner. The goalie was a little rusty early on in his first start since March 5.
“They looked like they were in playoff form, and some of our guys just couldn’t get going,” coach Barry Trotz said. “There was no space and we didn’t execute. It was a tough game for us.”
By the time the superlative Patrice Bergeron got his 28th goal of the season at 6:32 of the third period, the rout was on, finished off by Jake DeBrusk at 10:20 to send the remaining 13,917 walking towards the exits.
“We got it handed to us pretty good,” Martin said. “It’s a bit of a wake-up call. We have to be better in the next one.”
There isn’t a lot of time for the Islanders to get over this. They visit a desperate Canadiens team Thursday. Eight more games remain after that, and if it would take an epic collapse to actually miss the playoffs, but an effort like this can shake the foundation, and they know it.
“We can’t say much to [the young players] as veterans, because the veterans didn’t show up tonight either,” Martin said. “None of us played well. I think you kind of scrap it. Remember it, but scrap it.”
Or, as Lee said: “It’s how we respond, and what we learn from it.”