Maple Leafs 5: Islanders 3
If I were Doug Weight, I'd be ticked off, too.
The assistant coach had all manner of vitriol to spew in the on-ice official's direction after a call regarding John Tavares. JT had been cross-checked in the head by Toronto's Joffrey Lupul, when the refs decided Tavares had dived as well. Instead of a penalty, it was a 4-on-4 situation, which riled up Weight and sent the Isles' comeback into a downward spiral.
Of course, it hasn't been the first time that the refs have done this (ahem, San Jose?). But at least the first time, the Islanders managed to get at least one point.
All of that being said, there were questionable plays throughout this game on New York's behalf. From the first period, which I missed most of (and came home from work to find the Leafs already up 2-0) but heard of the horrors involved, to a couple of bad mistakes by Mark Streit and Frans Nielsen to give Joey Crabb a shorthanded goal, to the aforementioned ridiculous call and subsequent blowup by Weight... it just wasn't good. And the issue really is that the Islanders could have come back... maybe.
Let's be honest, the Isles put themselves into a hole in the first period, even with the pretty goal scored by Kyle Okposo with 4:15 left. Though they showed some good resilience with a Frans Nielsen power play goal 40 seconds into the second period, there were too many gaffes and missed opportunities, and James Reimer (bless his heart) allowed for many of those opportunities. After missing a few games with an injury, the Leafs goalie was bobbling more than a few glove saves and coughing up rebound after rebound, and yet the only thing that saved him (other than his skaters) was the fact that the Isles could not collect the rebound, or put it wide or high. John Tavares showed ultimate patience by finding the gap and shooting for it to cut the lead to 4-3 midway through the third period, which made me wonder if mayyyybe I was going to be wrong about the whole "we're just not solving Reimer tonight" concept... and then the call happened.
It all leads back to the call.
No, it really doesn't. It's just highly frustrating, and so is watching this team struggle, especially with so much promise. It doesn't show right now because yes, we're on the skids, and we've needed extra time to win lately, but it's there. It just needs to be found and brought back out to stay. Consistency would be wonderful (and so would a reliable defense- Mike Mottau was the surprise defensive star of tonight's game, which is saying something). I just hope Jack Capuano figures out what to do, other than laugh as his assistants go on tirades...
Until next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment