The Islanders once again played a "good" 50 minutes of hockey without their Captain. (I had no idea he wouldn't be playing until I turned on the game.) The Bruins played a good 10 minutes. And that’s all they needed come from behind a 3 – 0 deficit and then burn Roloson in the shoot-out. It must feel like Groundhog Day for Coach Scott Gordon.

Early on the Islanders hushed the 17,113 attendees at TD Garden even though the first period began with a quick penalty to Richard Park for interference at the 12 second mark. It would set the tone for the rest of the game. The Islanders had five penalties, the Bruins had six. You would think with that many penalties given out, it would have been a really chippy game, but there were no fisticuffs to speak of.

Joel “Wrecker” Rechlichz attempted to engage Zdeno Chara, but nothing materialized and Chara skating away from him while still yapping. Probably very good for him, but bad for the Islanders as Chara was a big thorn in Roloson’s side for the entire game.

For two periods, Dwayne Roloson, days away from his 40th birthday showed why Garth Snow gave the netminder a two-year deal. The Bruins managed 7 shots in each of the first two periods as opposed to the Islanders 24.

The sense of “urgency” as Scott Allen had called for on Thursday night was very apparent for the Isles in the first two. But once the Bruins came out of the dressing room in the third, that all changed. The momentum had shifted as the Bruins started the third on a power play due to an ill timed penalty by Freddy Meyer. Whenever a team hits a fresh sheet of ice on a power-play, it can certainly spell trouble.

It did. The Bruins didn’t score on the power play, but Mark Savard started their scoring streak and it was down hill all the way. Personally, I think Witt was screening Roloson and that killed his bid for a shut out. But it also changed how the Islanders were responding.
Sean Bergenheim hustled but couldn’t make anything happen. Josh Bailey had trouble getting shots off and I screamed at one particularly bad turnover. He managed one shot. WTF Josh???

Matt Moulson argued an interference penalty call on him as Chara looked like he just blew a tire and basically fell over Matt. No one wanted to hear it and he was sent to the box to sit and watch the Boston Power Play

Roloson was very steady making a few good saves on long, hard shots and not giving up any rebounds. He also used one of Rick DiPietro’s signature baseball bat moves getting the puck away from the crease and into the corner. The Islanders killed the penalty and Moulson was sprung from the box. But a minute later Biron Bitz shot the puck past Roloson. However, the puck actually went off Freddy Meyer who was bumped on the play and knocked into Roloson. So, basically, Rolly was taken out of the play by his own man, Meyer that made it a one goal game with 4 minutes left in the third.

My husband kept saying the Isles would find a way to lose this game because they had laid back on a 3 -0 lead, couldn’t convert on a 5 on 3 power play and couldn’t clear the puck out of their own zone.

The Bruins fans were back in the game with 3:30 left. They had been quite all night.
Then, just as many of us thought, the Bruins tied it up with a high shot over Roloson with only 2:34 left of the third. Immediately before the goal, he had taken a whack at the back of a Bruin in his crease. Two goals in under two minutes and the Bruins fans went nuts and the Isles looked lost.

Roloson was visibly frustrated and I think it got the best of him. He pushed Kobasew out of his crease after he made a save and I figured that wouldn’t bode well for the Islanders. Needless to say, I didn’t have much confidence heading into the shoot-out.

So there you have it. Once again, the Islanders get a single point. Is that the game plan? Play for a point? I doubt it. The thrill of another two point game for young John Tavares, the redeeming goal of Jon Sim, the strength of Kyle Okposo, the jubilation of a Radek Martinek goal, were all lost in the bigger picture of another Shoot Out loss.

Tomorrow there is a Season Ticket Holder open practice at Ice Works for those who filled out the form and are signed up. I wonder how they will react to the Isles first three games. I suppose it could be worse. They could have zero points to show for their efforts.

Monday is a day game against the LA Kings. Day games have never been too kind to the Islanders. We can only hope that the early game and the three hour time difference for the West Coast team can tilt the ice in the Islanders’ favor.

Like I said… we can hope.

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