There wasn’t much to say after Game 3 — unless you can find the Russian translation of “s—- happens.” The Islanders got to their game early despite falling behind, scrapped back even in the third and lost on a one-time-out-of-a-hundred shot.
Game 4 feels a lot more urgent, of course, since a 3-1 series deficit heading back to Boston would be a difficult climb.
Let’s look at a few ways the Islanders can bounce back on Saturday.
No change in net
You can focus on Brad Marchand’s OT winner, and yes, it’s a bad goal — a very low-danger shot that probably has less than a 1 percent chance of going in, according to shot data. That it was the overtime winner leaves a bad taste about Semyon Varlamov’s night, but Barry Trotz seemed a bit incredulous at being asked if he’s considering a change for Game 4.
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“I thought he was outstanding,” the coach said. And he was — the Islanders wouldn’t have gotten to the back half of the third period down just a goal without him, especially the way he played on the Bruins’ two power plays in the third. The Bruins’ other goal, from Craig Smith in the first, is probably considered high danger because the Taylor Hall setup went across the slot line, but it only went in because it was a bit of a changeup from Smith and Jordan Eberle was reaching after losing body position on Smith.
Varlamov has given up five goals in two games back in the Islanders net. He gets some blame for the Charlie Coyle goal to open Game 2, but the other three before Marchand’s featured mistakes in front of him. He has saved plenty of his teammates’ mistakes in those two games as well, especially in Game 3.
Ilya Sorokin may find his way back into this series, but it won’t be Saturday.
No change to the bottom six
By ice time in Game 3, the Kyle Palmieri-J-G Pageau-Travis Zajac line was the Isles’ No. 1 line, not the third line as we kind of designate it. They were out against the Patrice Bergeron line whenever possible and neutralized it well — Marchand and David Pastrnak each took retaliatory penalties, and there was maybe one dangerous look for that line all night, coming in the second when Pastrnak found a rebound off Varlamov’s pad and missed the net.
Oliver Wahlstrom doesn’t appear to be an option for Game 4, with the injury he suffered in Game 5 against the Penguins 11 days ago hampering him a bit more than was initially believed. There’s a small possibility Wahlstrom isn’t so badly injured and Trotz is simply more comfortable with his current 12 forwards, but that’s remote.
Zajac has been solid, though not a real scoring threat. Palmieri has been excellent, a real pain around the Bruins net, perhaps the Islander most willing to dig around the blue paint. And Pageau continues to make an impact in different ways each game.
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The Matt Martin-Casey Cizikas-Cal Clutterbuck trio had another solid night in Game 3. Clutterbuck’s big hit on Brandon Carlo knocked the Bruins defenseman from the game in the third; Carlo is day to day with a possible concussion. That’s not an outcome anybody wants, but the Bruins, already missing Kevan Miller, would be seriously hampered on defense without their other big, shutdown defenseman in Carlo.
Top six needs to finish
Mathew Barzal scored one of the uglier goals of his career to tie it in Game 3, and that sort of puck-hunting is a good complement to his game. He and Anthony Beauvillier had three wide-open chances — two for Beauvillier on breakaways (one just after Barzal’s third-period goal) and one for Barzal in OT — that could have flipped the game to the Islanders.
Tuukka Rask was as good as Varlamov when needed on Thursday, and the Islanders need Barzal’s creativity and the Josh Bailey-Brock Nelson-Beauvillier line to stretch the offensive zone east to west better to get Rask off his marks a bit.
More of the same from Pelech-Pulock
Adam Pelech is showing for the third straight postseason how much value he has in Trotz’s system. Pelech was out with Ryan Pulock against Bergeron all night but also mixed in some shifts with Scott Mayfield to spread his effectiveness — the only dangerous chance while Pelech was on the ice was from Pastrnak in the second, and that came from Barzal missing the puck off Varlamov’s pad.
The David Krejci line made a lot of noise against the other two Islanders defense pairs, but there was hardly anything on the interior of the Islanders’ defensive structure. Taylor Hall’s speed was impressive, and that line had the puck plenty, but Varlamov saw everything they threw on net and the Islanders defensem*n kept the rebound lanes clear.
Andy Greene and Noah Dobson spent too much time in the D-zone despite all that, and Nick Leddy coughed up a couple of first passes, which has unfortunately become a regular occurrence with him. Overall though, this was a good night at even strength and needs to continue.
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Maybe an in-game shuffle?
It can’t be overlooked that Barzal’s goal came with Palmieri on for a shift in place of Leo Komarov. It was Komarov who forced a turnover that led to Barzal’s chance in OT, but Barzal was doing some seriously heavy lifting with his line in Game 3 — Eberle struggled with the Bruins’ physicality, and Komarov just doesn’t have the legs to keep up at times.
Trotz might be better served by slotting in Palmieri, Beauvillier or Pageau for Komarov throughout Game 4 and beyond the way the Penguins sub in wingers with Sidney Crosby: on offensive-zone draws and late in periods. Just to mix it up and give Barzal some fresher, more skilled legs.
(Photo: Gregory Fisher / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Arthur Staple has covered New York hockey for The Athletic since 2019, initially on the Islanders beat before moving over to primarily focus on the Rangers in 2021. Previously, he spent 20 years at Newsday, where he covered everything from high schools to the NFL. Follow Arthur on Twitter @stapeathletic
