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"Played Without A Heartbeat" 5-2 loss |
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It took 22 seconds for the Leafs to get one passed Kevin Poulin. It was their first shot on net. It counted. Perhaps even worse, it was scored by ex-NYI Trevor Smith. But the Isles shook it off and played tough.
They had to since the officials decided to look the other way at so many calls. A high stick to Kyle Okposo sent him to the bench while blood splattered on his white jersey. No penalty to the Leafs.
Frans Nielsen was also hit with a stick and there was no call. Then again, he wasn’t pouring blood on the bench. However, when McLaren tried to get something started with Matt Martin, he held him, pushed him around, Martin refused to be forced into something that wasn’t on his terms and the whistle blew. Certainly McLaren would get an instigator penalty or something. Nope. Nothing.
The Isles managed to keep the Leafs off the board for the balance of the first period and Poulin only saw eight shots. John Tavares saw stars when he went head first into a linesman by the bench area. There was a collective
Josh Bailey had a good chance and Cizikas clanked one off the post, but the Isles remained scoreless.
With Andrew MacDonald in the box for tripping, Phil Kessel made it 2 - 0 with less than 9 minutes left in the second period. Aaron Ness looked like he tried to block it but wasn’t in the lane.
McLaren finally got a dance partner in Carkner with 5:40 left of the second. It sent both men to the box.
Finally there was a high stick call against the Leafs. Lupul joined McLaren in the box for clipping Frans Nielsen sending the Isles on a power play and leaving Frans trying to shake off the pain.
Casey Cizakes scored for the third straight game with 11.5 seconds left of the second as he skated all alone into the Leafs zone beating Bernier to put the Isles on the score sheet. Finally. They played well and had another 20 minutes to turn the game around.
The third period saw the Isles get “rag-dolled” as Newsday’s Art Staple put it. The younger players were just smacked around constantly. After Aaron Ness was run over by Colton Orr, Boulton had enough with him. But the linesmen quickly broke the two up lest they would be cleaning up teeth off the ice.
But at 3:39 of the third, Mason Raymond scores on a rebound. It seems that with Michael Grabner a healthy scratch, Jack Capuano had to change up his lines all game. There was miscommunication and lack of chemistry.
Clutterbuck took a punch to the head after a whistle from Granger which gave the Isles a power play opportunity. It was another failed power play.
For some reason Colin McDonald was given an ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’ penalty for kicking a broken stick out his way. Although it might have been something he said to the official who blew the whistle. Certainly, I would have.
Back at eve strength, David Clarkson scored with a wrist shot over the glove of Kevin Poulin. It was his first goal of the season and the Isles were in a three goal hole.
Frans Nielsen cut the Leafs lead in half with his tenth goal of the season from a Josh Bailey pass. It looked effortless. It wasn’t.
Phil Kessel went high on Poulin, it banked off the post and in behind him. It was 5 - 2 Leafs with 2:43 on the clock.
The calendar may only be on November 19th, but the Islanders are losing ground. This is NOT the same team that made the playoffs last season. This is a different team, but the struggles seem to be very familiar.
Jack Capuano was still saying his team played well, but most of his sentences seemed disjointed for the first time. The words were rushing out, but none of them seemed to go together.
So, does Garth Snow make another move? Does he trade for defense or try to get through it?
Tavares, “We didn’t executive. We didn’t seem to move our feet very well. Consistency level and all around game is just not there. They’re a team that can score. If you give them the opportunity, they’ll score.”
And they did.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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