Tavares’ frustration boils over, inspires Isles to snap winless skid
John Tavares hadn’t had a goal in three games and hadn’t notched an assist in 12.
So it was hardly a surprise the Islanders captain played with a bit more of an edge than usual Monday night against Anaheim, an edge that included a centerice scuffle with Ryan Getzlaf.
“It was the heat of the moment,” Tavares said af ter the Isles snapped a threegame losing streak with a 52 win in Brooklyn. “Probably not my smartest decision, but I couldn’t seem to get my glove off.”
Tavares, frustrated by being slashed “I don’t know how many times” said he “just had enough.”
The two captains were sent off for roughing — since it wasn’t so much a fight as it was some roughhousing — but the episode showed how physical Monday’s game was.
Regardless, it pleased his teammates — almost as much as his two firstperiod assists.
“I think it’s important,” said Matt Martin, whose firstperiod fight with Josh Manson helped lead to a threegoal outburst. “They’re a physical team. When John answers the bell like that, it’s definitely something you take notice of. … He takes a lot of abuse. He wasn’t backing down.”
Tavares had plenty of reasons to be frustrated. An 802 stretch that catapulted the Isles up the Metropolitan Division standings was partially undone by a threegame winless streak during which they scored just a pair of goals.
And when former Ranger Carl Hagelin beat Jaroslav Halak at 6:52 of the first period to give
Anaheim an early lead, it looked as if the Islanders might have been in for another long night in front of 13,578 at Barclays Center.
Instead, shortly after Martin’s fight, the fourth line ended the Isles’ scoring drought, with Cal Clutterbuck tying the game at 14:54.
With a minute to go in the first, Travis Hamonic gave the Isles the lead, with the help of a Tavares assist and a Brock Nelson screen.
Tavares assisted on the Isles’ third goal of the period, at 19:43, when Nelson got one by goalie Frederik Andersen, who was pulled after the first.
The Ducks cut the lead to 32 at 7:32 of the third, as the Isles couldn’t clear the puck, and Manson batted it down and scored, but Josh Bailey netted an insurance goal just over two minutes later before Martin added an emptynetter.
The victory allowed the Isles to head into the holiday break on a positive note before they return to action Sunday, when they host Toronto.
And they’ll expect even more from Tavares.
“He doesn’t [fight] all that often, but it certainly sparked the team,” Hamonic said.
Kyle Okposo missed his second consecutive game with a lowerbody injury coach Jack Capuano said had been “lingering for a couple, three weeks.”
Capuano hoped the upcoming holiday break would give Okposo time to recover, but did not provide any assurance he would be back Sunday.
“He’ll be reevaluated, and I’m hoping that this rest will give him some time to get ready to play,” Capuano said. “But there’s no guarantee of that either.”
Brian Strait was in the lineup in place of Marek Zidlicky, and Capuano said Strait was the team’s top defenseman in the win.