Islanders close in on playoff clincher

Can Grab Postseason Berth with Victory over Washington

April 5, 2016 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

New York Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss (1) and defenseman Nick Leddy (2) defend against Tampa Bay Lightning right wing J.T. Brown (23) as Lightning center Alex Killorn (17) awaits the puck in the third period of Monday night’s game. AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek

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During his five-plus seasons as head coach of the New York Islanders, Jack Capuano had never resorted to calling out individual players for his team’s shortcomings.

But desperate times call for desperate measures. With his short-handed unit reeling from a succession of critical injuries, and time running out to secure a second consecutive playoff berth, and first since the NHL club’s arrival in our fair borough, Capuano called out Brock Nelson, Ryan Strome and Josh Bailey during Monday’s morning skate.
“They need to pick their s**t up,” Capuano intimated less than 48 hours after watching the Islanders slumber through a 5-0 home loss to Pittsburgh that likely cost them any chance of climbing back into the hunt for home ice in the opening round of the playoffs.

The Islanders collectively responded to Capuano’s biting words Monday night, cruising to a 5-2 victory over defending Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay in front of 13,106 at Downtown’s Barclays Center to move within two points of clinching a spot in the league’s annual postseason tournament.

Team captain John Tavares had a goal, his 30th, and two assists; Nelson potted his 26th tally of the year and Thomas Greiss stopped 32 shots as New York (43-26-9, 95 points) traveled to Presidents’ Trophy-winning Washington Tuesday night with its first opportunity to secure a berth.

“We were embarrassed by it,” Tavares admitted of the Isles’ blanking at the hands of the Penguins Saturday. “We knew it was a big two points and we played our type of game.

“We really liked the way we responded and now we got to carry it over [Tuesday at Washington],” he added. “That’s the really important test I think, test our character in a tough back-to-back against a team that’s won the Presidents’ Trophy already and we’re still fighting hard here.”

The Isles fought hard, literally, in the opening period as rookie Ryan Pulock, one of the young players filling in for injured defenseman Travis Hamonic, scored his second career NHL goal and dropped the gloves for a brawl with Tampa’s Cedric Paquette.

“It was my first career fight, but I was just trying to stick up for my teammate and keep the life going with our club,” said Pulock, who impressed Capuano during the preseason but hadn’t skated with the big-league club since March 25. “I was happy I was able to help out.”

Matt Martin and Johnny Boychuk also scored for the Isles, who have won four of their last five since a brutal slide of seven losses in nine games put their playoff hopes in peril.

“I thought we were pretty good tonight,” Capuano said. “We were physical, we were hard on their skill, we took away time and space. It was a deserving two points of our guys.”

Greiss, doing his best to man the pipes in the absence of injured starter Jaroslav Halak, picked up his third straight win after enduring a personal four-game slide. Third-string goalie Jean-Francois Berube, who was in net for the loss to Pittsburgh Saturday, was unavailable Monday night after suffering a lower-body injury against the Penguins.

That meant Capuano, who is already down a pair of defensemen, had Christopher Gibson on stand-by in case Greiss went down.

“We have five guys back there giving everything they’ve got, playing more minutes than they probably should against a really quick team,” Capuano said of his short-handed back line. “I can’t give our defense enough credit tonight.”

After visiting the league-leading Capitals, the Isles will take on the arch rival Rangers on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in a game that could dictate which local squad grabs the coveted third spot in the division. New York will host Buffalo and Philadelphia at Barclays on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, to close out the regular season.

Following Monday night’s big win, Capuano made sure to remind his players that his inflammatory words were used for motivation, not belittlement.

“It’s not that I’m calling them out or trying to embarrass them in front of anybody, we need those guys to play better,” Capuano insisted. “The only reason I singled them out is because I care about them … And we gotta do something to ignite them.”

Isle Have Another: The Isles lost yet another player to injury Monday as defenseman Calvin de Haan left the game after blocking a shot. Hamonic (lower-body injury) may be back with the team in time for a potential first-round playoff series … Tavares’ goal Monday was his 30th of the season, marking the second straight year and third time in his career that he has reached that plateau. The Isles’ top scorer netted a career-best 38 goals last season en route to being named a Hart Trophy (MVP) finalist for the second time in three years.