Islanders’ six game win streak snapped against ‘Canes

The Hockey Gods have a weird way of balancing everything out.  After a game in St. Louis that the Islanders had no business winning, they fell short Tuesday night against a hot Carolina Hurricanes team.  The reason why the Hockey Gods were mentioned is because the Islanders had ample opportunity to put this game out of reach but they just had a couple of bad bounces.

After an early 1-0 goal by Brock Nelson in the first, the Islanders gave one right back up after a strange bounce off Nick Leddy’s stick.  The Hurricanes took a 2-1 lead with just six seconds left in the first after another strange bounce, this one off of Adam Pelech’s skate.  Jordan Eberle scored in the second but the goal was waved off after Canes head coach Rod Brind’Amour challenged the play for offsides and won.  Val Filppula’s left skate was up as he chased the puck in the zone.

Stud rookie Devon Toews tied the game up in the third.  He, Michael Dal Colle, and recently demoted Josh Ho-Sang have played great for the Islanders so far, so don’t be surprised if by the end of the season all three are regular contributors in the lineup.  It’s kind of puzzling why Ho-Sang was sent down, but after looking a little bit deeper it might make sense that Dal Colle better fits that third line winger role.  Don’t worry folks, JHS will be up again soon.

The Islanders had a chance to take the lead with a late PP, but they didn’t convert once again and Justin Williams, who was called for that penalty, wound up scoring the clincher on a backhand roof shot with just two minutes left.  The Canes got a late PP goal, Brock Nelson scored with a minute left, but the comeback was too little too late for the Islanders.

Speaking of Hockey Gods, every team that’s in the vicinity of the Islanders won tonight, pushing them out of a playoff spot for now.  The Penguins have won nine of their last ten, Montreal won, Buffalo blew out New Jersey, and of course the Washington Capitals won.  It’s a disheartening loss but we’re only halfway through the season.

The biggest issue with the Islanders all season has been the PP.  They’ve had many games that they lost points because they couldn’t convert on a key Power Play.  If they can shore that up by the end of the season, they’ll be a threat in the playoffs.  If not?  Well, let’s just say these teams around them aren’t going anywhere either.