Islanders lack of talent obvious in 3-0 loss to Toronto Maple Leafs

The New York Islanders played a great game but still came up short in a 3-0 loss as the superior talent of the Toronto Maple Leafs won out.

If you think talent is overrated then watch this game. In the New York Islanders 3-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, talent was the key to victory as the Islanders dictated the run of play but couldn’t find a way past Michael Hutchinson.

A quick play by Kasperi Kapanen on rookie Noah Dobson followed by an equally quick play between Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews is all it took for the Islanders to pick up the ‘L’.

Talent won tonight.

First Period

Slow. Tight checking. Few chances. That was it. Jordan Eberle had perhaps the best chance of the period for both sides, but Michael Hutchinson was up to the task with a big blocker stop.

Leo Komarov reintroduced himself to former teammate Mitch Marner by slamming him into the boards.

That’s what the road team needs to do. Stifle anything the home team was going and take the crowd out of it. They did that. So, I guess, that’s a success.

Second Period

The New York Islanders dominated the second period. By the end of the period, the Isles were up 16-7 in terms of shots on net. But still found themselves down 2-0 on the score sheet.

Noah Dobson got his first embarrassing moment in the NHL as

Kasperi Kapanen

turns him inside out before dishing the puck off to

Pierre Engvall

. (To be fair, Toews leaves Engvall open to chase Kapanen for…reasons.)

Just a few minutes later, Auston Matthews makes it 2-0 with a nice reflexive redirection in front of Varlamov.

Coming into the game Michael Hutchinson was sporting a 4.03GAA and a 0.883SV%, but in the second period, he looked like a Vezina Caliber goalie. He was under siege in the opening minutes in the frame and he stopped all of them.

Making things worse was this Tom Kuhnhackl effort that somehow didn’t find the back of the net.

Third Period

With two goals down, the Islanders needed to push and find a way to beat a backup goalie who’s allowed, on average, over four goals against. They failed to get one.

There wasn’t a big push from the Islanders. They just seemed to coast to the end of the game.

When carrying the puck into the offensive zone they’d travel right into traffic. The shots they did generate weren’t very dangerous. There just wasn’t enough push from the Isles to get into the game.

Three Stars

1. Michael Hutchinson: 33 saves, 1.00SV%

He was a guy with a 4.03GAA coming into the game finished by shutting out the Islanders. And he looked good doing so.

2. Auston Matthews: 1G, 1A

Matthews scored one hell of a goal to give the Leafs their second of the night. His tip from right up front is a purely instinctive goal from a guy who’s one of the best at putting the puck in the net.

3. Kasperi Kapanen: 1A

Noah Dobson is going to be seeing that move in his sleep tonight.