Mathew Barzal went from an off night to a night off.
Coach Barry Trotz indicated he wanted to rest some of his regulars before the playoffs began. But, clearly, he also wanted to send a message after a dispassionate loss to the NHL-worst Sabres on Monday night.
Sitting his top-line center, was an attention getter.
The Islanders took a season-high 48 shots but Trotz still didn’t get the response he wanted. Loose defensive play and puck management in the third period led to a second straight blown two-goal lead against the Sabres and the Islanders lost a 4-3 shootout on Tuesday night at KeyBank Center.
Anders Bjork, who scored twice, had the lone goal in the shootout, beating Ilya Sorokin.
The fourth-place Islanders (31-16-6) now have only the slimmest of hope of securing home-ice advantage in the playoffs.
Barzal was hardly the only culpable player in Monday’s 4-2 loss as Trotz’s assessment was his team did not play with enough emotion or physicality.
But Barzal was a minus-2 in 16:09 with just one shot and three giveaways. He couldn’t convert from the slot shortly before Sam Reinhart’s winner at 15:56 of the third period, losing a defensive-zone draw to Reinhart after the Islanders iced the puck.
"You have to be emotionally more invested than we were [Monday]," Trotz said. "They got nothing accomplished because you have to have an emotional attachment to the game."
Trotz also rested grinders Leo Komarov and Matt Martin. Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who missed Monday’s loss with a strain, Michael Dal Colle and Ross Johnston returned to the lineup.
Sorokin made 28 saves after Semyon Varlamov stopped 36 shots on Monday in his third straight start.
Trotz kept his six defensemen intact, if only to give them a chance to make up for Monday. But he also expects to rest some of his regular blue-liners as well over the final three games.
"I think we will," Trotz said. "Their play wasn’t really strong [Monday]. Give them another game to sort of get back to normal. They were challenged a little bit to respond and then you’ll probably see some guys get rest."
Michael Houser, a 28-year-old journeyman goalie who has played mostly in the ECHL since 2012, made 18 third-period saves in his second start. Houser made his NHL debut — and played his first game in any league since March 7, 2020 — with 34 saves on Monday.
He stopped 20 shots in Tuesday’s first period, though the Islanders tied the game at 1 at 16:25 as Josh Bailey fed Anthony Beauvillier for his fourth goal in four games. Cody Eakin, off Jeff Skinner’s feed after the puck took an odd bounce off the glass, had given the Sabres a 1-0 lead just 26 seconds earlier.
Like Monday, the Islanders built a two-goal lead in the second period.
Defenseman Ryan Pulock, with his second goal of the season, ripped a shot from the right point through Johnston’s screen and under the crossbar to make it 2-1 at 3:44. Cal Clutterbuck’s shorthanded breakaway — the Islanders’ fourth shorthanded goal of the season — made it 3-1 at 9:16. Bjork’s tip of defenseman Colin Miller’s shot after the Sabres hemmed the Islanders in their zone cut the lead to 3-2 at 17:37. Bjork then tied it at 3 as defenseman Noah Dobson left him open at 10:56 of the third period.
