It was never close. From the moment the puck dropped the New York Islanders were outplayed, out-hustled and outworked in what was essentially an embarrassment following one of the most solid shutouts of the season.
Rested Legs Prevail
The New York Islanders had an opportunity to pounce on an opponent who had not played a game in five days, but instead floundered to them in an embarrassing effort on the road.
Despite this, the Islanders are 2-1 in a franchise-record nine-game road trip.
The effort from tonight simply won’t cut it, whether the Jackets were more motivated by a break or whether the Islanders just laid an egg.
Offensively and defensive nightmarish on both sides of the ice, the tilt was obvious very early on.
The best course for the Islanders is to put this right in the rear-view mirror and shift their focus to playing Dallas next Thursday.
Thomas Greiss was pulled after giving up three goals on 17 shots for a save percentage of 85.
What’s a bit more alarming, however, is that Greiss’ stats have been dipping in the month of February. Despite a recent stretch where he played well, JF Berube needs more consistent play time.
Greiss’ playing time has been expanded during the second half of the season because he is, indeed, the undisputed starter. It could be that the consecutive starts are getting to Greiss and he needs more time off to prepare for the long-run down the stretch.
Despite these factors, the Islanders are still off to a phenomenal start as their offense has been relatively consistent through the past 10 games. Knowing Doug Weight, he will drill them into the ground during the several coming practices before Thursday’s game against Dallas.
It will certainly be an interesting conclusion to the Islanders season and we begin to countdown on the last 21 games remaining, and with the deadline looming, look forward to possible scenarios they could explore.
The #Isles fall to the Blue Jackets in Columbus. Box score: https://t.co/UvSj0SIuL7 pic.twitter.com/W3hIFJRO0V
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) February 26, 2017
.@dsavy58's FIRST three-point game! #CBJ pic.twitter.com/8UzkNYt7vU
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) February 26, 2017
FoligNo chance pic.twitter.com/3RpKOy2njq
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) February 26, 2017
boom
goes the cannon pic.twitter.com/MJ9HKLKeeV
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) February 25, 2017
*on repeat* pic.twitter.com/hw2ajsIotT
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) February 25, 2017
Shots 17-9 #CBJ after one! pic.twitter.com/J6T90k7Xie
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) February 25, 2017
does this count as two goals @NHL pic.twitter.com/wd7crXj7Iw
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) February 25, 2017
