Taub: Missed opportunities crucial in game one loss for Islanders

Let me preface this by saying the Islanders weren’t as bad as many believed they played in their game one loss in Boston last night. Yes the score, 5-2, and shot disparity was clear once the final buzzer sounded — the Isles only recorded 22 shots to the Bruins 40 — but in every other category, the two teams were basically even.

What hurt the Islanders the most was they had golden chances to steal home ice heading into a game two showdown on Monday evening.

It was still a 2-2 game early in the third and the Isles were handed a power play for the Bruins having too many men. They failed to convert despite getting a few good looks man up from Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson. Almost like clockwork just seconds later, Charlie McAvoy sent a seeing-eye shot past Ilya Sorokin who was screened on the play which turned out to be the game-winner. And there lies the Islanders’ downfall.

“The playoffs comes down to a chip-in, or a shot, but you just have to stay on top of them and play the way that we know got us here, execute when we can,” forward Jordan Eberle said after the loss. “We’re a veteran team, we’re going to regroup from this and get ready for Game 2.”

In what many expect to be a tight series — and make no mistake Saturday’s night opener was every bit that style before the Bruins were able to break it open in the final frame — the Islanders capitalizing on their chances when they get them is critical.  Sure they got the early power play goal from Anthony Beauvillier to open the scoring and Adam Pelech’s rocket to tie the game after the B’s took the lead in the second, but there were other several moments that could have helped result in a different outcome.