BOSTON _ There have been many holes to plug for the Islanders this season. They don't need one Little Dutch Boy to plug the dike, they need many. You don't sink to last in the Eastern Conference and 28th overall without multiple areas of concern.
For Jack Capuano, special teams and goaltending stand out. You need both to succeed, he often says. At the least, you need one working to cover up the shortcomings of the other.
Carrying a five-game losing streak into tonight's game against the Bruins, the Islanders are getting very little from either area. Monday's practice addressed special teams, with the 30th-ranked power play (12.8 percent) and the 26th-ranked penalty kill (78.1 percent and falling) getting the bulk of the ice time.
"The key for me was they got one when they needed it and we didn't," Capuano said after the Islanders lost to the Senators, 6-2, on Sunday at Barclays Center.
Less than a minute after Anthony Beauvillier pulled the Isles even, Mark Stone scored on a rebound on the power play to restore Ottawa's lead entering the third period.
Third periods have been brutal for the Islanders, but they began Sunday's third period with 1:12 of power-play time. They generated zero shots on goal and soon after fell behind by two.
The penalty kill has been a roller coaster: It started 21-for-22, then went 20-for-32 in an eight-game stretch, during which the Islanders were 2-4-2. The unit then went 34-for-36 in a 12-game stretch and the team went 6-3-3. Now, back in the valley, the Isles have allowed eight goals the last 15 times short-handed in the last five games.
The power play has been consistent all season, but not in the way one would hope. It has produced a league-low 11 goals in 86 chances and no games with more than one power-play goal.
"Special teams and goaltending," Capuano said. "We haven't gotten enough from either."
J-F Berube started Friday and Sunday, his first two starts of the season. He allowed seven goals and lost both games, so it appears Capuano is back to the drawing board.
"We just have to come to work, stay positive and try to get out of this," John Tavares said. "That's the only way."
