What was so shocking was the cruelness of it all, the inhumanity and utter disregard for mental stability.
The Islanders have been through a torturous time in the past month, and there is nothing but blame and accountability to go around. But Saturday night at the Coliseum was the most gut-wrenching of them all, a 3-2 overtime loss to the Capitals that was a lesson in how to raise someone up just so the crash down is even that much uglier.
“It was obviously pretty high to pretty [crummy],” said John Tavares, who was on the ice as part of the power-play unit that allowed Nicklas Backstrom’s game-tying shorthanded goal with just 49 seconds remaining in regulation, a goal that came all of 62 seconds after Thomas Vanek gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead on an emotional swat-in from in front.
“It [stinks]because we played a good hockey game and worked real hard to the end,” the captain said, “and our line let us down there.”
It was Alex Ovechkin — because of course it was — who put the Islanders away in the overtime, racing down the left side and scoring his league-leading 21st goal of the season on a shot through the legs of goalie Anders Nilsson. The 6-foot-5 netminder had played a solid game to that point in his first start of the season, but was nearly inconsolable in the locker room afterwards.
“We should have got the win,” said Nilsson, who finished with 27 saves and got an encouraging whack on the pads from Vanek as he sat there by his lonesome in his stall, staring blankly into a Gatorade bottle. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to shut the door there at the end, so it [stinks]right now, but we have to bounce back. It was a step in the right direction. If we keep playing like this every game, I know we’re going to get a lot of points.”
Well, this was at least one point, something the Islanders (8-16-3) haven’t gotten in the five-game losing streak they brought in. But now they’re 2-10-1 in their past 13, and can do little but watch as the hole they dig in the basement of the Metropolitan Division gets deeper and deeper.
“It’s tough, yeah, but it’s not the toughest,” said coach Jack Capuano, whose team gave a good enough effort, outshooting the Caps 39-30 and out-attempting them 65-58, to spare him a second night in a row of the home crowd chanting for his head.
So yes, this wasn’t Friday’s 5-0 drubbing at the hands of the Red Wings, but the Capitals (14-11-2) still walked out with the two points, getting the game-opening goal from Aaron Volpatti midway through the second, which was negated early in the third by Cal Clutterbuck’s shorthanded breakaway.
“We want to win so bad that we finally get the lead, we keep playing hard [then] we sat back for no reason,” Vanek said. “We should have took it to them for 60 minutes instead of 59.”