Islanders blitzed by Canadiens as playoff hopes take a hit

MONTREAL — This loss to the Canadiens came by entirely different means than two nights ago in Ottawa, when the Islanders just didn’t seem to have it in them. Saturday, though, might be an even worse punch to the mouth.

The Islanders were in this one, leading 2-1, tied 3-3. This was two teams in the thick of the playoff race tossing haymakers in prime time in front of a sold-out Bell Centre, the intensity every bit as high as it’ll be in the postseason.

And then it wasn’t.

Two nights after playing a disastrous third period in Ottawa, the Islanders were even worse over the final 20 minutes in Montreal.

Montreal’s top line overpowered the Islanders’ trio of Anders Lee, Mat Barzal and Bo Horvat, breaking the game open as the Habs scored four consecutive goals on the back of Cole Caufield’s hat trick to hand the visitors a disastrous 7-3 defeat that marks a major setback in the playoff race.

After the Penguins had won in the afternoon and the Blue Jackets sealed up their victory over the Kraken, it became all the more critical for the Islanders to leave Centre Bell with two points just to keep pace. They did not, and as a result cannot regain third place in the Metropolitan Division merely by beating Columbus in an equally critical match on Long Island Sunday.

Paradoxically, the Islanders played a terrific second period, and yet it was when the night started to slip away from them.

For after the Islanders held Montreal without a shot for the period’s first 14:26, the Habs erased a 2-1 deficit over the ensuing 5:34, grabbing a 3-2 lead on goals from Alex Newhook and Cole Caufield.

That was where the game stood entering its final 20 minutes, with the Islanders carrying a power play into the third having scored their opener on the man advantage with Emil Heineman’s first-period blast.

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It took Matthew Schaefer just 45 seconds to uncork a blast from the top of the zone to tie it back at three. At 22 goals, he’s one short of tying the all-time record for a rookie defenseman, but on this night, it felt almost irrelevant. It was also the last moment in which the Islanders looked competitive.

Kaiden Guhle gave the home side a 4-3 lead minutes later when his shot from the top of the zone deflected off Marc Gatcomb’s stick and in.

Making matters even worse, the Canadiens extended their lead 8:08 into the third on a Cole Caufield to Juraj Slafkovsky goal that saw Ryan Pulock simply lose track of the Montreal superstar low in the slot.

Slafkovsky slammed in Caufield’s pass from behind the net, and a home crowd that had been tense all night was singing celebratory olé’s.

The singing renewed three minutes later when Caufield got on the end of Slafkovsky’s feed to make it 6-3. That prompted Patrick Roy to pull Ilya Sorokin, likely in a bid to leave him fresh for Sunday, and in essence raise the white flag on the evening.

Caufield added his third on a power play after Barzal’s frustrations boiled over and he unsuccessfully attempted to fight Nick Suzuki, taking a penalty amid the fracas that followed.

The Islanders had acquitted themselves well through 40 minutes, matching the Habs blow-for-blow and playing with far more physicality than they showed on Thursday. Ilya Sorokin stood on his head in the first; the second was perhaps the best 20 minutes the Isles played on this three-game trip .

None of it mattered.

Not after the Isles wilted away in the third, their best players disappearing in the heat of the Bell Centre cauldron.

If something doesn’t get fixed — and fast — the season could be next.