Fans booed at Nassau Coliseum several times last night, and the loudest cheer was reserved for a second-period fight between Brendan Witt and Montreal’s Michael Komisarek.
Witt won the fight, which was about the only thing that went the Islanders’ way.
It was a rare off night for a team that had played solid hockey every game for nearly a month. Really, the Islanders probably were due for a dud like last night’s 4-1 loss to the Canadiens.
“We just didn’t have it tonight,” Islander coach Ted Nolan said. “There’s gonna be days like this.”
Especially when a team has played seven straight one-goal games, winning five, as the Isles had entering this one.
That streak helped establish them as a likely fixture in the mix in the Atlantic Division, but the Islanders didn’t look like that team against Montreal.
Those close games, however, had no impact on last night.
“That’s no excuse,” said Islander goalie Rick DiPietro. “We were fine.”
Mike Sillinger pointed to the Isles’ 45 shots as proof that they weren’t worn out.
“We battled,” Sillinger said. “We had 40-something shots, so it’s not like we weren’t getting the puck on the net.”
True, the Islanders peppered Cristobal Huet, but it wasn’t until Mike Comrie’s goal with the team’s 40th shot that one finally got through.
While Huet played well and had a considerable amount of work, he was rarely tested – including during a pair of five-on-three opportunities, when the Isles had nearly a minute of two-man advantage. Neither time could they produce a threat.
“Our power play didn’t click,” Sillinger said. “We passed when we should shoot and shot when we should have passed.”
Still, the Islanders entered the match winners of six of their previous eight. After traveling to Boston for tomorrow’s matinee, they return for three straight at the Coliseum.
They realize they can’t let what is now a one-game aberration become anything more.
“We’d like to put some points in the bank, get a little winning streak going,” said DiPietro, who gave up more than three goals for the first time since an 8-3 loss to Carolina on Oct. 27.
The goalie pointed to a relatively strong third period as reason for optimism.
“We got out of the gate slow,” Nolan said, pointing to the giveaway that led to Montreal’s first goal, a wrister by Steve Begin.
Begin is the player who DiPietro slid into last year, giving the goalie one of his concussions. He scored again in the second to give the Habs a 3-0 lead. Tomas Plekanec ended whatever suspense remained at 13:22 of the third, putting Montreal up 4-0.
As for the better third period, Nolan said, “It was too late.”
Nolan added he didn’t have to address the team after the first two ugly periods.
“I didn’t say [anything],” Nolan said. “They knew. They were disappointed in themselves.”
Canadiens 4 Islanders 1