Islanders drop second straight to the Bruins in another tough loss.
The New York Islanders lost to the Boston Bruins for the first time this season on Thursday, and it wasn’t pretty. They’d have the chance to bounce back the next day, but it wouldn’t be easy.
Both Josh Bailey and Cal Clutterbuck would sit out with injuries.
Lineup changes:
• Michael Dal Colle back in as second line LW
• Leo Komarov takes Clutterbuck’s spot as fourth line RW
• Ilya Sorokin in net
1st period: Heartbreaking
The Islanders outshot the Bruins in the first period, but came out of the period down 1-0 after Boston scored a late goal with three seconds left.
You can’t let the extremely dangerous David Pastrňák have goal-scoring opportunities, and that’s exactly what the Islanders did. Scott Mayfield didn’t look his best on this one.
This might have been the Islanders’ best period, but that isn’t saying much.
2nd period: Pretty disastrous
The second period was the icing on the cake, and not in a good way. They were outshot 12-6, committed two penalties, couldn’t score on two of their own power plays, and gave up yet another goal because of a poor defensive effort.
This really wasn’t Mayfield’s day and he continues to be arguably the weakest link in that Islanders blueline. The Islanders would have another chance to come back in the third, but it’s not looking great.
3rd period: Turn the page and move on
The empty net goal that the Islanders conceded to end the third epitomized how this game went for them, as a whole. Some defensive blunders allowed Curtis Lazar to make it 3-0.
The Islanders had two more power play chances this period, but missed on both. They went 0-for-5 on the night in that regard and the man-advantage continues to be a struggle for them.
They also gave Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who was excellent, his first career shutout.
The Islanders need to spend Saturday regrouping and learning from their mistakes in these past few games as they get ready to take on the Philadelphia Flyers, who are desperate for a playoff spot.
Key Moment: Pastrňák gets Bruins started
The key moment of the game for the Islanders was the goal they conceded to Pastrňák with just seconds left in the first period.
The Islanders had been playing a solid period up until that point and were unable to get back to it after conceding this goal. It also epitomized their poor defense in this game, especially by Mayfield.
Player of the game: Noah Dobson
The Islanders struggled as a whole in this one, but it was nice to see Noah Dobson do a decent job on the ice. He was respectable defensively and was less bad offensively than most of his teammates.
Dobson’s numbers: 14:10 TOI, 0.01 iXG, 56 CF%, 0.33 xGF, 0.32 xGA, 0 GF, 0 GA, 0.43 Game Score, -0.3 offensive rating, 0.43 defensive rating, and 0.01 individual rating.
Stats are courtesy of Hockey Stat Cards and Natural Stat Trick.
