This hurt, no question, and there was apparent anger boiling within John Tavares when the Islanders captain delivered a succinct message after Thursday night’s 4-2 loss to the Flames at the Coliseum:
“It’s been basically, I think, the story of our year — we find ways to lose games more than we find ways to win them,” Tavares said. “This one we let slip away.”
That slip occurred with 5:32 remaining in the game, when Calgary forward David Jones charged the net and clearly made some contact with goalie Evgeni Nabokov. Then, a Matt Stajan shot deflected up off Jones’ skate and over the goal line, just before the net went off the moorings and the Flames (22-28-7) took a decisive 3-2 lead.
“When the guy is in the paint, and his stick is in my glove and my stomach and pushing me, as far as I’m concerned, it is interference,” said Nabokov, who had little work in making 18 saves while his team dropped to 22-29-8.
The Islanders pretty well dominated this one from the beginning — and after 39:45 of play, they were down, 2-0. They got another big-time doughnut from their power play, going 0-for-5 over 9:21, taking them to the horrid mark of 0-for-30 over the past six games. During that time, they have gone 1-4-1 and buried themselves deeper in the basement of the Metropolitan Division.
“It’s tough to get pucks through when guys are standing right in your face the whole time,” said Calvin de Haan, who played 2:34 of his 21:24 on the man-advantage. “I could score 50 goals from the stands.”
De Haan was the one who managed to tie the game, 2-2, with 7:31 gone by in the third period after another defenseman, Thomas Hickey, got it to 2-1 with 6.1 seconds remaining in the second.
Yet, despite outshooting the Flames, 30-22, and out-attempting them by the huge margin of 69-37, the Islanders found another way to lose. With the Avalanche in town on Saturday night to wrap up the pre-Olympic schedule, the playoffs are looking dimmer by the day.
“We need points, that’s the bottom line,” Nabokov said. “Goals like this, it’s make it or break it. Unfortunately for us, we came out with zero points because of this goal.”
Regin, Bouchard traded to Blackhawks
After the game, the Islanders traded forwards Peter Regin and Pierre-Marc Bouchard to the Blackhawks in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2014 draft.
Regin had been a healthy scratch for two straight games and eight of the past 15, while Bouchard cleared waivers on Dec. 9 and has been playing for AHL Bridgeport since. Both were signed to one-year, free agent deals this summer, Regin for $750,000 and Bouchard for $2 million.
It’s likely that with 12 healthy forwards, the team will call up Ryan Strome for Saturday’s game.