Isles Drop Second Straight 5-2 To Leafs

Tonight, our Islanders dropped their second consecutive game by a score of 5-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Here are some of my notes from the game:

-Halak didn't bring his "A" game tonight.  While he wasn't entirely responsible, you can tell nearly from the outset that he wasn't at his best tonight.

-After the first period the team pretty much disappeared.  I don't know what happened, but in the second period especially the team just pretty much stayed in the locker room.  They were going through the motions on the ice and played down to the level of the Maple Leafs instead of playing like the team that started 4-0.

-Even with the goal tonight, the recent play of the power play is a concern.  On every other power play they had their fair share of struggles which has been the case for multiple games now.  It is quite the change from the power play that started number one in the NHL after the first three games.

-One of the few positives of the night was the penalty kill which had its first stellar performance of the season.

-Thoughts to Thomas Hickey who got cut by a skate tonight.  An exact prognosis on him isn't known yet but barring something unforeseen I expect him to play Thursday wearing a full face shield.

-Clutterbuck had an effective game drawing the penalties on Polak and Phaneuf.

-Josh Bailey also had an effective game.

-I don't understand Capuanos love affair with the fourth line.  They are played quite often and in situations very uncustomary for the fourth line.  For example, tonight, they should not be put out against the Phil Kessel line which happened many times.  I am not sure how Capuano thought that was a good idea.

-The entire defense struggled tonight as well.  I'm not sure why the team plays so ugly in their own zone but at times this season they have been pretty horrible.  After doing a pretty good job of overcoming it in the first five games, it hurt them tonight.

To say tonights game was a disappointment is quite an understatement.  If the Islanders came out and played their game tonight they would've extended their record to 5-1 to 4-2.  One thought that kept creeping into my head tonight was "same old Islanders?"  I'm not ready to go that far yet, but winning on Thursday night is huge, streaks like this can't be extended like they have been in years past.

Next Game: Thursday 7:00 @ Boston