5 Takeaways: Islanders Shut Out in Second-Straight Loss to Boston

After opening the season with five-straight wins over Boston, the New York Islanders suffered their second-straight loss against the Bruins as they were shut out 3-0 at TD Garden on Friday night.
It was a better effort from the Islanders after Thursday's 4-1 loss, but the team still looked disjointed and drifted from its detailed game, which ultimately cost them two points. Part of the visible disconnect from the team could be attributed to losing veterans and alternate captains Josh Bailey and Cal Clutterbuck from the lineup. Both were game-time decisions and were replaced by Michael Dal Colle and Leo Komarov. Ilya Sorokin returned to net for the team and made 25 saves on 27 shots in the loss.

"There was a lot of positives to take out of this game, we were way better," Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "We were real strong [to start], it was a good start. Systematically, we were doing things correct - they were doing things correct as well. It was a playoff type of pace and physicality. It was two really individual mistakes on their first two goals."
Boston scored in each period with tallies from David Pastrnak, Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar on an empty net. Jeremy Swayman was dominant between Boston's pipes and pitched a 25-save shutout.
Here are five takeaways from the Islanders' loss:

BETTER EFFORT, UNABLE TO CAPITALIZE

Following last night's 'unacceptable' loss - according to Trotz - at Boston, the Islanders came out with a better effort to start Friday's game.
They had quality scoring chances early and outshot the Bruins 10-8 in the frame, but Boston got on the board with a first-period buzzer beater from Pastrnak - with 2.4 seconds on the clock - and a goal from Hall in the opening minute of the second period to turn the tide.
The Islanders came out with jump and generated threatening looks on their 10 shots, but Boston's netminder Swayman didn't budge. Swayman denied the Islanders on quality chances including an early Dal Colle breakaway, a shorthanded rush from Anthony Beauvillier and Brock Nelson and a late Kyle Palmieri wraparound attempt.
While Boston tested Sorokin with eight shots of their own throughout the period, the Islanders did a solid job of keeping those chances to the outside. But after a big penalty kill from the Bs' top ranked unit (86%) in the NHL they capitalized on the momentum.
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As the clock wound down, Boston hemmed the Islanders in their own zone. Patrice Bergeron pinched at the blueline before finding Mike Reilly along the left boards. Reilly snapped a slick feed into the slot for Pastrnak to lift his shot over Sorokin and give Boston a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes of play.
"You never want to give up late goals, it can be a little deflating," Matt Martin said of Pastrnak's goal. "Especially, because you have to think about it for 15-20 minutes while you're in the dressing room. We did have a really strong first and we were still feeling really confident about our game. In intermission, it felt like we had to keep doing what we were doing and eventually we'd pot one, but it wasn't the case tonight."
Sorokin was tested off the opening faceoff of the second period and subsequently before Boston's momentum broke through with Hall scoring his second goal in as many games 47 seconds into the frame. Upon entering and turning over the puck in Boston's zone, they counterattacked with speed, resulting in a successful give-and-go between Hall and David Krejci.
In the second half of the period, discipline began to go array for both sides as four penalties were evenly exchanged within 10 minutes. Swayman stood tall again in the period, stoning a Beauvillier breakaway in the first five minutes and a Palmieri chance on a two-on-one rush later on.
"We had quite a few chances tonight," Andy Greene said. "They're goalie played pretty well too."
The Islanders managed a more rounded effort in the third period as they held a 9-8 edge in shots, but they struggled to ride any meaningful momentum or get their offense set up. With Sorokin was pulled in the final two minutes of the game in exchange for the extra skater, Lazar furthered Boston's score as he buried a shot on the empty net.

POWER PLAY GOES 0-FOR-5

While the Islanders power play had converted on Sunday against the Rangers, it went a total of 0-for-8 in this two-game set against Boston, including five of those power-play opportunities in Friday's game.
Granted, Boston boasts the top penalty kill in the NHL (86%), the Islanders were also unable to generate any subsequent momentum following their handful of chances on the man advantage.

SOROKIN GETS THE START

Sorokin - who last backstopped the Islanders to a 3-2 OT win over the New York Rangers on Sunday night - received the start in the second-leg of the back-to-back. It was an active night for the Russian rookie, who was tested with a flurry of chances in the second period.
Down to 2-0 in the third period, Sorokin made a timely stop on a two-on-one shorthanded rush with a pad save on Bergeron's shot from Marchand's feed.
With the loss, Sorokin's record dropped to 11-4-1 and stopped the goalie's three-game winning streak.

DAL COLLE AND KOMAROV DRAW IN FOR BAILEY AND CLUTTERBUCK

Dal Colle and Komarov returned to the lineup in place of Bailey and Clutterbuck, who were both game-time decisions. Bailey's absence was his first since March 31, 2018, ending a streak to 196 consecutive games played.
Dal Colle drew in the lineup for the first time since March 25 after suffering a lower-body injury that had sidelined him for the last nine games. The 24-year-old winger totaled 9:46 time on ice, took one shot and threw four hits.
"He came in and did what he was doing before he got hurt," Trotz said of Dal Colle. "He was playing pretty well. I thought he was hard on the puck, he had four hits, good legs, he was on top of people, winning his races and his battles during the game. I thought he gave us really good energy and just jumped right back in and did a lot of legwork for that line."
Komarov returned to the lineup for the first time since April 9. The veteran winger played in Clutterbuck's spot alongside Casey Cizikas and Matt Martin logged 12:46, including 2:07 on the penalty kill and threw two hits.

BAILEY AND CLUTTERBUCK UPDATES

Bailey and Clutterbuck were both game-time decisions and neither dressed for the Islanders or even took warmup.
Bailey was not on the bench for the Islanders in the third period on Thursday night while Clutterbuck missed the final few minutes of the game after being shaken up from a cross check - that wasn't whistled for a penalty - that sent him into the boards. Trotz confirmed that both players are day-to-day.
"They came in from the bus and basically said, 'I'm going to be honest with you, I don't think I can give you what you're going to need tonight,'" Trotz said. "We'll see where they are tomorrow, I say [they are] day-to-day."
With Both Bailey and Clutterbuck out, Nick Leddy and Cizikas were appointed alternates on Friday night.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders travel to Philadelphia for the final game of their three-game road trip on Saturday and for the final meeting of their regular-season series against the Flyers. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Wells Fargo Center.