Barry Trotz has to reel in his frustrated players in Islanders' loss to Hurricanes
Kieffer Bellows of the Islanders and Brett Pesce of the Hurricanes collide at UBS Arena on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Kieffer Bellows skated to the Islanders’ bench frustrated because he thought he had drawn a penalty but no whistle blew. He considered slamming his stick against the glass.
Once he settled on the bench, Casey Cizikas told him, “Hey, get it under control.”
“I thought it was a little bit of an overreaction by Kieffer,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said after Sunday afternoon’s 5-2 loss to the Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes at UBS Arena. “Guys are going to get in your face. This is not shinny. You’ve got to keep your emotions and your focus in check.”
But Trotz said Bellows wasn’t the only frustrated Islander.
“We had some frustration where you see us barking at the refs,” he said. “In between periods, I said, ‘Stop it. Let me be the guy, or the captains are the guys talking.’ We don’t need a whole bench whining. I hate being a team that whines. We started whining but we got it under control.”
Shoot more
Hurricanes rookie goalie Pyotr Kochetkov relieved injured starter Antti Raanta at 12:57 of the second period and yielded defenseman Ryan Pulock’s power-play goal at 15:27 on the first shot he faced. The Islanders managed only seven more shots on Kochetkov, 22, who made his NHL debut in Saturday’s 3-2 overtime win in New Jersey.
“The third period, they raised their game a little bit and our game didn’t have the pop it did in the first two periods,” Trotz said.
Familiar faces
The Islanders’ alumni weekend concluded, and while Trotz said there was no interaction between the former players and the current team on Sunday, he was happy to see who was in the building.
Among the attending alumni were Hall of Famers Bryan Trottier and Denis Potvin as well as fellow four-time Stanley Cup winner Bobby Nystrom, Ed Westfall, the team’s first captain, and Pierre Turgeon.
“There’s some great names and it had to be great for the fans,” Trotz said. “It was good to see them. I looked up all the time. I was clapping quite a bit.”
Isles files
Cizikas notched his 200th career point with an assist on Ross Johnston’s first-period goal . . . Anthony Beauvillier (upper body) and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, associate coach Lane Lambert and assistant coach Jim Hiller — all in COVID-19 protocol — remained unavailable . . . There was a moment of silence for Canadiens Hall of Famer Guy Lafleur, who died Friday at age 70.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
