Islanders shut out by Blackhawks
CHICAGO - With one last stop remaining on a five-city, 11-day tour across the Western Conference, the Islanders looked as if they already had packed for home in last night's 5-0 loss to Chicago.
Although the Islanders earned three wins in the first four games, they looked passive against the reigning Stanley Cup champions at United Center.
"We didn't come out hard enough in the beginning and we made it easy on them," John Tavares said of the poor start.
The Islanders allowed the Blackhawks to dictate play from the beginning, then saw a 1-0 deficit blow up in the second period, when they gave up four goals.
In his third NHL start, 27-year-old Nathan Lawson made 40 saves for the Islanders but received little help from his team, which was outshot 16-8 in the first and 16-7 in the second.
"I'd say we made it tough on him,'' coach Jack Capuano said when asked about the lack of help in front of Lawson. "Their offensive-zone play was a lot of east-west behind the net. They found the soft areas and used [defensemen] high and wide. That made it tough on everybody, but especially Lawson."
The Islanders' penalty-kill, which was 13-for-13 in the previous five games, was tested early when Milan Jurcina and Bruno Gervais headed to the box in the first four minutes of play.
Gervais was in the box for holding when Patrick Sharp scored on the power play from the left circle at 4:52. Patrick Kane picked up an assist on the goal after making a pretty cross-ice feed to find Sharp with an open shooting lane. Marian Hossa had three points in the second period as the Blackhawks made it 5-0.
Speedy winger Michael Grabner had two of the best scoring chances for the Islanders - both breakaways - but converted on neither. Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford, who earned his first shutout of the season, stuffed him on a backhanded attempt in the first period, and Grabner lost the handle on the puck while one-on-one against Crawford in the second.
"It just jumped over my stick," Grabner said. "That first one, [Crawford] just made a great save. I probably should've held on to it a half a second longer."
Making his first appearance since receiving a quick hook from Capuano in the Islanders' 2-1 loss to Edmonton on Thursday, Lawson couldn't deliver the bounce-back performance he envisioned.
Lawson was recalled from Bridgeport before last Monday's game in Calgary after Dwayne Roloson was traded to Tampa Bay. He was joined days later by fellow Sound Tigers netminder Kevin Poulin, who was called up after Rick DiPietro suffered a groin strain in the Islanders' 5-2 win over the Flames.
Both have delivered strong performances in relief since joining the team, but with DiPietro's tenuous health status looming again, can these two rookies handle the bulk of the workload if necessary?
When reached via text Sunday night, general manager Garth Snow said he had no plans to add a goaltender. He said DiPietro, who flew back to New York on Friday, should return "at some point this week."
One thing is for sure. The Islanders must deliver a more well-rounded effort than they did Sunday night no matter who is in net.
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