One game after giving up 61 shots in a win on Monday in Toronto, the Islanders’ woes came on the other end of the ice last night — and made their coach as upset as he has been this season.
Following two solid periods at the Nassau Coliseum, the Islanders fell apart offensively in the third, coming up with just one shot in the final 20 minutes of a 2-1 loss to the Flyers, who had lost their previous three.
“Something changed,” Trent Hunter said. “Obviously, it’s something we’ve got to figure out and get offense generated. It’s unacceptable.”
The breakdown came after the Isles had 28 shots in the first two periods and resulted in an 11-1 differential in the third. The game-winner came from Scott Hartnell at 14:33, though Biron thought Mike Richards deflected the shot.
The Isles still haven’t beaten the Flyers since Feb. 12, 2008.
“We stopped doing the little things that made us successful,” said Martin Biron, who, like the defense, played well in defeat in the team’s first game back at home since ending a 3-2-2 road trip.
“I don’t think it was anything Philly did differently,” said the goalie, who made 27 saves. “It seemed like they were coming on the rush a little bit more, but that’s what happens when we don’t get the puck on net.”
The Isles wasted no time doing that in the first, when Hunter scored off a John Tavares pass 8:05 into the game on the power play. It was the team’s first tally with a man advantage in four games.
Philadelphia tied the game in the second on a power-play goal of its own, when Richards beat Biron.
A visibly angry Scott Gordon blasted the team’s lack of speed in the deciding period in the Isles’ third loss in four games.
“In the third period, we only tried to make plays,” Gordon said. “We didn’t play enough in the offensive zone to maintain what we did in the first two periods.”
And that resulted in just the lone Mark Streit shot.
“We were easy to defend in the third,” Gordon said. “If you’re going to continue to turn the puck over, it’s going to be jammed down your throat.”
The Isles have had late-game issues throughout the season, but they generally have been on the defensive side.
“It’s not a defensive problem,” Gordon said. “We defended well. It wasn’t like we gave up a lot of chances.”
Just enough for a loss.
*
Rick DiPietro took part in the morning skate yesterday and remains enthusiastic about his comeback, which remains weeks away, at least.
“I felt pretty good,” DiPietro said. “The biggest thing is facing power plays — the quick, bang-bang plays that you don’t practice much in goalie drills.”