Snap Shots: New York Islanders Vs Montreal Canadiens

Welcome to Snap Shots, our condensed post-game recap of the New York Islanders latest NHL matchup

New York Islanders Vs Montreal Canadiens

Bell Center, Montreal, Canada

Start Time:  6:12pm EST      End Time:  8:44 EST

Announced attendance: 21,273

Starting Lineups

New York Islanders

Nelson– Tavares – Okposo
Grabner – Neilsen – Bailey
Bouchard- Regin – McDonald
Martin – Cizikas – Boulton

Hamonic – MacDonald
Hickey – Donovan
Ness – Carkner

Poulin

Montreal Canadiens

Pacioretty-Plekanec-Gionta
Galchenyuk-Gallagher-Eller
Bournival-Desharnais-Bourque
Moen-White-Dumont

Markov– Subban
Gorges -Diaz
Bouillon-Murray

Price

Game Summary

What is there to say that has not already been said? Another game, another loss. Another November, another tailspin, This is getting really old, really quickly.

The Isles went down 1-0, early in the 2nd period on a wrist shot by Brendan Gallagher. However, the Islanders were not down for long. Less than 6 minutes later, the Isles tied it on a howitzer by Pierre-Marc Bouchard. The Isles had dominated play in the 2nd, really taking the play to the Canadiens. They spent a lot of time in the Montreal zone until Michael Grabner took a lazy penalty. With no one within a 10 foot radius around him, Grabner, the fastest skater in the league, lazily decided to dump the puck down the ice. Well, that didn’t work, and the puck was shot directly over the glass leading to a Delay of Game penalty. Sure enough, the Islanders horrid Penalty Kill struck again. Lars Eller wristed one past Kevin Poulin for a 2-1 Montreal lead. Less than 3 minutes later, Michael Bournival tipped in a pass by Raphael Diaz to make it 3-1 and basically put the game away.

The Isles tried  to make a game of it. They made it close early in the 3rd, as Brock Nelson took a great pass from John Tavares and put it behind Carey Price to make it 3-2 Habs. But just over 6 minutes later, Alex Galchenyuk ended any Isles comeback hopes as he made it 4-2. That would end up being the final, as the Isles fall for the 4th time in a row, 4-2 to the Canadiens.

Statistics

Islanders : 26 Shots, 23 Shots Blocked

Canadiens: 31 Shots, 13 Shots Blocked

Faceoffs :Montreal 34, Islanders 31

Turning Point

Laziness will get you every time.  Momentum was on the Islanders’ side. Michael Grabner, single-handedly killed it with a very lazy penalty. Not to be outdone, the Islanders Penalty Killing unit is the worst in the league. That’s not just saying they look bad. They literally are the worst in the league and it’s not getting any better. I don’t think there has ever been a clearer turning point in a game. As soon as Grabner shot the puck over the glass, you just had a feeling that it was over. And it was.

What’s Ahead

Assuming Jack Capuano wakes up with a job tomorrow morning, his Islanders will next play at home vs Nashville on Tuesday. After going 0-4 on a 4 game road trip, maybe some home cooking is what they need. They will have 3 straight home games including Tuesday. They will play Thursday at home vs the Kings and Sat night at home vs the Red Wings. It will not get any easier for the Isles. The time to stop the slide is now, before it gets out of control. Assuming it has not yet done so.