Islanders don't generate offense in loss to Devils
Photo credit: Getty Images | Kyle Okposo #21 of the New York Islanders controls the puck against Travis Zajac #19 of the New Jersey Devils. (November 6, 2009)
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Nov. 6: Devils 2, Islanders 1
NEWARK - After the Islanders' 2-1 loss to the Devils at the Prudential Center Friday night, goaltender Martin Biron did not sugarcoat the disappointment.
Should've been a 1-0 win, Biron said. Two mistakes cost us the game and two points, he said.
"We gave them two goals. We didn't play the way we know we can. There's absolutely no positive look to that game," Biron said.
After Frans Nielsen gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead in the first period, the Devils rallied for two goals in the second for their fourth straight win.
On a sharp centering feed from Sean Bergenheim, Nielsen scored his third of the season, backhanding a shot past former Islanders goaltender Yann Danis at 6:23. But the Islanders couldn't hold the lead because of a lack of a consistent offensive presence in the last two periods.
"I'm very disappointed," coach Scott Gordon said. "We had a first period where we didn't allow ourselves to build off the momentum of our lead."
Early in the second period, Devils defenseman Cory Murphy evened the score with a booming slap shot from just inside the blue line at 2:38 that simply skipped between Biron's legs.
"It was a bad goal," Biron said. "I tried to get the puck in the corner before I made the save and it just caught underneath my stick. It was a bad goal that got them back in the game."
Biron said the Islanders felt pretty lucky escaping the first period with a one-goal lead, but they orchestrated their own demise.
The Devils' Cory Murphy tied it with a slap shot at 2:38 of the second. Brian Rolston put the Devils ahead 2-1 with a power-play blast from the right point, his 100th goal as a Devil. He converted a nice give-and-go play with defenseman Andy Greene at 13:40.
"I gave them one and we gave them one on the power play," Biron said. "That was the bottom line."
Danis made 23 saves for his second victory of the season, although he wasn't antagonized much by his old teammates.
After outshooting the Devils 7-1 at the start of the game, the Islanders were limited in the offensive zone by New Jersey's staunch defensive effort and Danis' play.
"He was solid," Gordon said.
Islanders defenseman Radek Martinek got smashed along the boards by Zach Parise at 14:16 of the third and crumpled to the ice, where he was tended to by team trainers.
Martinek was helped off the ice by teammates Andy Sutton and Josh Bailey. He appeared to keep the weight off his right leg; no update on his injury was available immediately after the game.
Kyle Okposo was a whisker away from tying the game with 35 seconds to play. He tried to force the puck through and sent it rolling along the goal line, but Travis Zajac made an excellent swipe to clear the crease.
Gordon said that although the third period was an improvement on the first 40 minutes, there wasn't enough urgency and offense to erase the deficit.
"It was a game that was there for the taking," Gordon said. "We've got to do better ourselves."
