Boxscore:
(G, A)
1st Period:
NYI: 0, BOS: 1 - Benoit Pouliot (1); Jordan Caron (1)
NYI: 1, BOS: 1 - Matt Moulson (3); Steve Staios (3), Michael Grabner (1)
NYI: 1, BOS: 2 - Nathan Horton (PP - 3); Zdeno Chara (8), David Krejci (3)
NYI: 1, BOS: 3 - Tyler Seguin (8); Patrice Bergeron (8), Brad Marchand (5)
NYI: 2, BOS: 3 - Michael Grabner (4); John Tavares (5), Matt Moulson (4)
2nd Period:
None
3rd Period:
NYI: 2, BOS: 4 - Milan Lucic (7); Nathan Horton (4), David Krejci (4)
NYI: 2, BOS: 5 - Nathan Horton (4); Joe Corvo (4), Dennis Seidenberg (3)
NYI: 2, BOS: 6 - David Krejci (3); Zdeno Chara (9), Milan Lucic (6)
Goaltending:
Evgeni Nabokov - 9 saves on 12 shots, .750 SV PCT
Al Montoya - 22 saves on 24 shots, .917 SV PCT
Tuukka Rask - 24 saves on 26 shots, .924 SV PCT
Final Score: 6-2 BOS
Attendance: 17,565
Notables:
- In what most view as as a "showcase" start so to speak, Evgeni Nabokov was given the nod to start tonight and looked absolutely abysmal. Poor positioning on the first goal and just generally poor play during his entire stint. He was pulled near the end of the 1st period after letting up two somewhat stoppable Boston goals and just did not look very good. Not to say his defense couldn't have helped him out on all 3, but this wasn't a great night for Nabby.
- In relief, Al Montoya shook off any rust he may have accumulated and went right back to the stellar form we'd seen from him earlier in the season. He was making some absolutely ridiculous saves, was showing some pure athleticism even when he had taken an accidental fall on the ice and managed to get his glove on a quick shot, and once again proved himself as the best goaltender in the organization right now. If he does not get the start on Wednesday, it will be very surprising.
- The Isles first line of Michael Grabner, John Tavares and Matt Moulson was really clicking tonight. Moulson had a beautiful redirection on a Staios slapshot to tie the game in the first, and John Tavares and Michael Grabner were making sweet music on a nice tic tac toe-esque play to make the game 3-2. This line is doing pretty well right now, and should stay together for the time being. On a minus, Moulson was completely outgunned by David Krejci with the empty net, leading to the 6th goal. Not good.
- Brian Rolston, after having a somewhat solid game against Washington, is back to being useless. He can be repped all day long for his shot, but when the rest of his play is just flat out bad, he needs to be moved to the 4th line or scratched. Simple as that. And why on Earth would Jack Capuano put him out as the extra attacker is absolutely mind numbing. More on that in a bit.
- Where in the world is Kyle Okposo? Once again, completely invisible on the play and doing nothing to contribute offensively. For a former 50 point player, it's almost terrifying to see him become a shade of what he used to be. Not sure what happened this offseason to create this, but it's troubling.
- While I've been generally fond of him this season, and nice shot on the first goal aside, Steve Staios was terrible defensively tonight. His big defensive breakdowns were happening pretty consistently, and one breakdown on the Bruins blueline led to an odd man rush that made the game 4-2. He was moved down to the third pairing with Eaton at the end of the game, and rightly so.
- Mark Streit also had a bad game defensively. Some bad turnovers on the blue line led to some big Bruins chances.
- The defense as a whole just played a terrible, terrible game. They'd been serviceable so far, but this was no excuse. Horton and Seguin undefended in front is absolutely inexcusable.
- I understand it would be frustrating going with a 3rd coach in 2 years, but I am losing a lot of faith in Jack Capuano's abilities to make smart decisions. Between the consistent benching of our obvious best goaltender, to putting Rolston out as the extra man, to taking forever to switch up the lines, to bad matchups against opponents (like putting Eaton out against Ovechkin the other night), to pulling the goalie tonight with over 3 minutes left and 3 goals down... it's becoming very hard to continue to be a fan of Capuano.
Thoughts:
AT: After playing pretty well as a team through 40, I'm not really sure what happened in the third period. Everything fell apart. Or, perhaps, the Isles mistakes finally caught up to them. Everything I've addressed in the notables applies to the whole game, but the Isles caught a lot of lucky breaks and still managed to generate a decent amount of chances. In the 3rd, everything went away and all the luck they'd been getting ran out. I think it's safe to say now that this team is beginning to show that they are just not very well put together. The lack of a 4th top 4 d-man is showing, the lack of more than 4 top 6 forwards is showing, and the coaching staff's inability to see who the real #1 goaltender is, as everyone knows, is most certainly showing. It's not time to start looking at the top 5 picks for the draft next year, but it is time for this team to wake up.
Next game: The Islanders will face off against the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. Game time is 9PM on MSG+.
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