The New York Islanders were outmatched 3-1 by the Boston Bruins on Wednesday, giving Boston a clean sweep in their season matchups. Despite controlling possession and outshooting the Bruins 45-14, New York failed to make the most of its scoring opportunities.
Mathew Barzal scored the Islanders' only goal at 4:41 of the first period, his seventh of the season, after receiving a pass from Tony DeAngelo and maneuvering around Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman. Just 1:42 later, Alex Steeves tied the game for Boston, capitalizing on a loose puck in front of Ilya Sorokin, who finished with 11 saves in defeat. Tanner Jeannot scored early in the second period, and Steeves added a shorthanded goal at 10:21 of the third, ending New York's comeback hope. Swayman made 44 saves, improving to 10-6-0 on the season.
Islanders head coach Patrick Roy stressed the importance of finishing scoring chances.
“We were the better team on the ice, but the quality of our shots is gonna have to improve, find ways to bear down on our chances […] we're going to win more games than we're going to lose if we play that way,” Roy said.
Special teams remain a major problem for New York. The Islanders went 0-for-4 on the power play, now at 0-for-27 over the last eight games dating back to Nov. 13. Even with 45 shots on goal and dominating five-on-five play, New York’s lack of success on the man advantage, combined with conceding a shorthanded goal to Steeves, made the difference in the game. The Islanders are last in the league on the power play and have scored only two regulation goals over their last three games.
The loss dropped New York to 13-9-2, with 28 points, and 1-2-0 on their current seven-game homestand, after going 6-1-0 on a recently completed road trip.
The Islanders will look to bounce back on Friday afternoon when they host the Philadelphia Flyers for a Black Friday matchup.
