Skidding Islanders can’t climb out of early hole in loss to Bruins

Instead of playing well for the game’s first 45 minutes, the Islanders played well for merely the game’s middle 40 minutes. 

Funny enough, that did not help them turn things around. 

After dropping Wednesday’s game, 6-3, to the Bruins, the Islanders have now lost five of their past six and two of three on a homestand which looked like a chance to turn things around. So much for that. 

The Islanders did not come ready to play in this one, falling down 2-0 and forcing Patrick Roy to call timeout within the game’s first 6:31.

That jolted them into shape somewhat, but the damage was already done. 

Failing to play 60 minutes has been a hallmark of the club for over a year. What does it matter whether it’s the last 10 or the first 10 in which they turn off?

The result, after all, is the same, but in this one, they went with both for good measure. 

Give the Islanders some credit for not quitting on this one after a lackluster start, but circling the wagons around a club that is 8-10-5 at Thanksgiving — which is to say it has won barely more than a third of its games at the traditional quarter mark of the season — would be a little much. 

Brock Nelson gave the Islanders the initiative heading into the final 20 minutes by lashing a puck past Joonas Korpisalo with just eight seconds left in the second, tying the game at three. 

But the Islanders could not make good on that momentum. 

Though they built some pressure at the start of the third period, they failed to turn it into a goal. 

The Bruins then took advantage, as Pavel Zacha deflected Andrew Peeke’s point shot in at the 10:48 mark of the period to make it 4-3. 

Mere minutes later, with the Islanders’ resolve evidently depleted, David Pastrnak fed Zacha in front to make it 5-3 — prompting a round of “Fire Lou,” as in Lamoriello, chants from the crowd. 

Nikita Zadorov put in an empty-netter with just over two minutes to go after coming out of the penalty box with the Islanders having gone scoreless on their only power play of the night. 

Excellent as Ilya Sorokin has been this season, he was not at all on his game Wednesday, with six high-danger chances leading to Boston’s first five goals, per Natural Stat Trick. 

You can call it another game lost in the third period. But it is just as accurate, if not more so, to call it a game the Islanders lost in the opening minutes. 

Brad Marchand struck twice for the Bruins within the game’s opening minutes, his first goal coming just 57 seconds in after Elias Lindholm won a faceoff clean to the slot and Marchand ripped the puck into the net.

He scored another after Justin Brazeau found him in the slot for a chip-in goal, prompting Roy to use up his timeout. 

Maxim Tsyplakov pulled the Islanders back to 2-1 after Brock Nelson forced a turnover off the forecheck and Tsyplakov slid the puck between Korpisalo’s legs at the 12:50 mark of the period. 

Nelson racked up two more points in the second period, first by capitalizing on Mason Lohrei’s error to get in on the rush and score, then with his goal seconds before the buzzer.

In between, Morgan Geekie scored for the Bruins when Zacha’s cross-ice feed found him unguarded at the left dot. 

The late start, however, did the Islanders no more favors than their failures to finish the game. 

They might still be in the playoff hunt. They might still be dealing with injuries. But right now, what the Islanders are is a team with just eight wins to its name at Thanksgiving. 

That is the reality, like it or not.