New York Islanders Goalies Fall Apart in 8-4 Loss to Hurricanes

The New York Islanders goaltending was abysmal, to say the least on the Monday and the Hurricanes put up an eight spot to defeat the Islanders in the first game of a home and home.

The New York Islanders finally returned home after a brutal nine-game road trip. Head coach Doug Weight led the team to a 5-3-1 record during the stretch and took on the Hurricanes Monday night only one point out of a playoff spot.

It was the first game at the Barclays Center for Josh Ho-Sang and the first home game for Travis Hamonic since December 27^th.

The Isles got off to a quick start testing Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward numerous time in the early minutes.

At 9:11 of the first the Islanders broke through when Andrew Ladd made a nice move to start an offensive rush and Ryan Strome put one passed a screened Cam Ward.

Strome continued to play well under Weight and Ho-Sang was flying in his first period in Brooklyn.

J.F. Berube was in net for the Islanders on Monday and had a rough 30 second- stretch in the middle of the period. At 14:14 the Brock Nelson line got all turned around in the defensive zone and Jacob Slavin slapped one passed Berube right under the cross bar.

26 seconds later it was the Nelson line again with another lousy shift that had Berube all over the place. This time it was Joakim Nordstrom scoring and just like that the Hurricanes had a 2-1 lead. The Islanders had dominated this period but in the blink of an eye, they were down one.

Just over a minute later though the Islanders would tie it up. Stephen Gionta put Ward for his first goal since December of 2015. The Isles and Canes were tied at two after a first period mostly controlled by the Islanders.

The Islanders got a power play early in the second and right as it expired Ho-Sang fed Calvin de Haan who put one passed Ward glove side to give the Isles a 3-2 just three minutes into the period. It was the fifth of the year for de Haan.

New York Islanders

It All Fell Apart From There

At 6:51 Justin Faulk, with lots of room at the point, wristed one passed Berube. A bad effort and a stoppable shot and the game were tied at three. Just over a minute later Jeff Skinner beat Berube as well. Four goals on 13 shots and even with a game tomorrow, Weight lifted Berube in favor of Thomas Greiss.

This looked like a good move by Weight. He didn’t want to let a must-have game get out of hand. Even with Greiss coming in, it got out of hand.

Aside from the goaltending, the Islanders defense was horrid on Monday. The Hurricanes scored again on the first shot Greiss saw all night. A rare poor goal by Greiss, who didn’t seem ready to step in. The Barclays crowd was quiet in a hurry as the Islanders now found themselves down 5-3.

With still plenty of hockey to play, the Islanders headed to the power play.

Slavin broke free on a breakaway and snuck one under Greiss. His second of the night and the wheels had completely fallen off. The Hurricanes were up 6-4 and Islanders fans were calling for Jaroslav Halak to make it to Barclays by the start of the third.

Nelson was a minus-four on the night.

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The goal fest continued deep into the second period but for the first time since the game was 2-2 the Islanders got one of its own. Anthony Beauvillier led an offensive rush and fed Ho-Sang who beat Ward for his second NHL goal. It was the young kids coming through to cut the Hurricanes lead to 6-4. Ho-Sang now had a goal and assist was the only bright side of the night.

The Hurricanes led 6-4 after two periods of play and embarrassing goaltending from the Islanders.

Four minutes into the third period Skinner sprung out on a breakaway and was tripped by Dennis Seidenberg and awarded a penalty shot. Skinner completely fooled Greiss on the penalty shot. The Hurricanes completed the touchdown with an extra point to take a 7-4 lead.

The Canes averaged just under three goals a game going into this one. Slavin would finish off the hat trick shooting one of Hamonic’s stick and right through the five hole. The Hurricanes have scored 20 games this season in just three games against the Islanders. Just an ugly game.

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The Isles will have to have a short memory. They play this same Hurricanes team tomorrow night in Carolina.