Kyle Okposo laid in bed on Sunday and saw the image over and over again — the puck sliding off the toe of his stick blade, his backhand attempt that would have tied the game for the Islanders missing the wide-open net and sailing to the corner of the ice. It was a play that could have changed the complexion of Saturday’s game against the Capitals, tying the score late in the second period, but instead it became just another squandered opportunity in a gut-wrenching 3-2 overtime loss.
“Probably thought about it about a thousand times since it happened,” Okposo said after Monday’s practice at Nassau Coliseum, preparing for Tuesday night’s home game against the Penguins. “But you have to let it go. The puck is going to go in, it’s just getting opportunities [that is important]. Obviously, that one I’d like to have back. But I’m getting a lot of opportunities, and still contributing.”
The Penguins surely remember Okposo, as the Isles power forward played the most assertive hockey of his career against them in last season’s first-round playoff series, one that top-seeded Pittsburgh would need six games to win. In those six games, Okposo had three goals, one assist — and five minutes in the penalty box after bloodying Matt Niskanen’s face in a decisive fight in Game 2 that gave the Islanders some life.
But going into this matchup with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Co., Okposo hasn’t scored in eight straight games, and has just one goal and two assists in his past 12. Although he has been getting opportunities, it’s no coincidence his lack of scoring has come in a stretch when the Islanders have lost six straight — the only loser’s point coming on Saturday — as well as 11 of their past 13 as they plummeted to 8-15-4 and the bottom of the Metropolitan Division.
“We can talk about the last game and everything is magnified and we could have put that game away, and we didn’t,” said coach Jack Capuano. “We’re going to need other guys. Not only are they playing pretty solid for us defensively, but we need them to chip in offensively if we want to give ourselves a chance. We’re not kidding ourselves here.”
Of course, it’s not just Okposo who they need. Capuano made Josh Bailey a healthy scratch for Friday’s 5-0 drubbing by the Red Wings, and after Bailey’s return on Saturday, he has now gone 16 straight games without a goal — a streak dating back to Oct. 25 in a game in Pittsburgh. There is also Michael Grabner, who was made a healthy scratch on Nov. 19 in Toronto and hasn’t scored a goal — get this — since he got two on opening night.
Remember, too, it was Bailey signing a five-year deal worth $3 million per this offseason, and Grabner ($3 million) and Okposo ($2.8 million) both signing five-year deals in May of 2011.
Then there are new additions Pierre-Marc Bouchard (four goals in 24 games) and Peter Regin (one goal in 25 games), who haven’t exactly exceeded expectations.
“I believe in the group that we have,” Capuano said. “There are some guys that obviously don’t have the numbers that they’ve had in the past. We have to have secondary scoring, or else.”