BUFFALO — This came directly from the “What do we have to lose?” file.
Mired in doldrums and with their season slipping away, the Islanders finally gave J-F Berube a shot at starting a game in goal for the first time this season. The hope was that it would bring different energy, different karma and a different result.
That didn’t happen, although Berube played well. The Islanders gave up tying third-period goal on a flukey bounce and lost, 3-2, in overtime on Rasmus Ristolainen’s goal. The overtime loss failed to snap a slide in which the Islanders had lost three in a row. The winning goal was assisted by Kyle Okposo, in his first game against the Islanders.
It seems like eons ago that Okposo was one of the Islanders, caught up in the euphoria of ending the hex and winning a playoff series. Earlier Friday, Okposo recalled heading upstairs with Frans Nielsen for a TV interview after the clincher against the Panthers last spring. “We just hugged,” he said. “We were just so happy that we achieved that, we had been there for so long.”
Now it is a matter of trying to scrape for every point they can and attempting to shed the distinction (entering Friday night) of being the only Eastern Conference team with more regulation defeats than victories. So it was a matter of “Why not?” that prompted Jack Capuano to finally give Berube his chance, 30 games into the season.
“We’ve struggled here a little bit, to be quite honest with you and he’s been working real hard. He just deserves an opportunity,” the coach said before the game.
A goalie change can provide a spark for an entire team. The Islanders did have significant jump in the first period, keeping pressure off Berube for the most part. When the Sabres did break through with a chance, the goalie handled it, smothering Matt Moulson’s short-range rebound after a shot clipped the post with 9:55 left in the period.
Ryan Strome put the Islanders ahead at 13:05. Strome was centering Cal Clutterbuck and Nikolay Kulemin because Casey Cizikas was out with an upper body injury — the result of an apparent kick on Thursday. Strome ripped home a shot from the high slot, giving him two goals in two nights after not having scored one since Oct. 21.
The Islanders lost then regained their lead in the second period. More daunting, it looked for a second as if they might lose John Tavares. He was clipped in the knee by Marcus Foligno’s stick as Johan Larsson scored on a redirection at 2:32. But during the next stoppage he took a turn on the ice to test it and was back for the next shift.
In fact he was out there for the start of a power play that ended with Shane Prince sliding the puck across the goalmouth to Alan Quine, who beat Robin Lehner at 6:39 for a 2-1 edge.
Toward the end of the period, the Islanders and Berube killed off a penalty, which was a relief after the high-powered Blackhawks had dominated the penalty kill Thursday. Capuano said that the unit has cost the Islanders six games this season.
Almost on cue, a penalty and a bad break hurt them early in the third period. With Andrew Ladd in the box for tripping, Moulson shoveled the puck through the crease, where it caromed off Thomas Hickey’s skate and into the net for a 2-2 tie. Yet another third period was up for grabs and again the Islanders failed to grab it.
..... - Newsday