I love* watching people lose their head on Twitter after a loss like last night's 3-2 come-from-ahead defeat at the hands of the Kings.
*Not a sincere use of the verb
After an emotional loss that sends fans to ransacking their liquor cabinet, people flip out and go on diatribes based on one word or phrase here or there, or one very minor aspect of the game that suddenly takes on massive significance in today's hypermedia world.
Given my encounters with the human race overall and in rec hockey in particular, it makes me wish someone shoved a microphone in these people's faces after their silly little men's league games and captured their immediate reactions just to see how coherent they are. (It's not that I'm a cheerleader for the Islanders coaching staff, but I am a general supporter of cleansing our base talk-radio instincts from post-game analysis.)
Islanders coach Jack Capuano and goalie Kevin Poulin were almost Zen-like in fielding questions after last night's loss. A missed opportunity, but a game against one of the Western Conference's best required at least some degree of perspective.
When Capuano was asked [video same as embedded above] to assess the play of Aaron Nes, who scored his first NHL goal, he broached the overall philosophy for digesting games like that:
"Again, I always have a better evaluation the day later when I watch [the video]. There's so much going on during the course of a game.
... Emotions run high after a game like this. As a coaching staff, the guys as well, you just sit back and give it some thoughts [tomorrow]."
On what the hell happened last night, and how it all ties into the team's overall form, losing five of six:
"The last six periods were not too bad for us. Obviously that road trip, special teams weren't great. But last six periods we just have to find a way. It wasn't turnovers, it wasn't puck management...
The Kings were pretty good in the first, we made a push in the second, they made a push in the third and got a timely power play goal. [in the third period] We didn't change anything about our game...
Last five or six minutes, after it was tied there, we made a push, the forecheck was better, pucks in, and … a shot to the net that has eyes. Nothing you can do about it, but you have to find a way to respond."
Poulin: Arrogant, Denial, or Plain Talk?
Meanwhile, Kevin Poulin was almost academic about the goals he let in and the loss in general. The Post story on Poulin accused him of shirking responsibility:
So where is the line between confidence and delusion, between belief and arrogance? Because on Thursday night in the home locker room at the Coliseum, Kevin Poulin stood there in all sincerity, shaking a protein shake, taking little to no blame for the team’s third-period collapse...
...but watch video of his post-game with the same quotes, and you see a guy who might be arrogant, might have (too much?) swagger, but is frankly digesting the loss and how the goals went in. Not a big deal, I don't think (especially if he stops the puck):
Captain John Tavares wasn't quite so Zen-like [video], his frustration with the team's effort remaining high over the last few weeks:
[In the third] every part of our game seemed to let us down: Power play, penalty kill, 5-on-5…just not good enough. We got to get this message through our head on what it takes. We need more complete games.
[Was it a third period shell?] "It seems that way, but we want to be that team that goes at them. Started with the power play not [working]."
Takeaways?
- The Isles don't want to sit on a lead, but that happens with every team.
- Tavares will probably whip them all into shape or die trying.
- Buried in Capuano's presser above, they'll look at how to treat the forwards and try to get secondary scoring.
More from Lighthouse Hockey:
- Los Angeles Kings 3, New York Islanders 2: Aaron Ness 1st NHL goal precedes collapse
- Video/GIF: These fans were also thrilled by Aaron Ness' first NHL goal
- Recap - Los Angeles Kings 3, New York Islanders 2: After Cizikas and Aaron Ness 1st goals, a collapse
- New York Islanders vs. Los Angeles Kings Preview: Johnny be OK
- Islanders News: John Tavares hip, Thomas Vanek still out, Bridgeport shuffles