Near-miss costs Isles successful western trip
Prepare to Visit Arch Rival Rangers Thursday Night at MSG
“The inches we need are all around us,” Oscar-winning actor Al Pacino said during his impassioned locker room speech in the 1999 Oliver Stone football film “Any Given Sunday.”
The New York Islanders learned a thing or two about how important a role a single inch can play during their early-season swing through California, especially in Sunday night’s 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.
Down a goal with 20 seconds to play, team captain John Tavares had the puck on his stick and a partially unprotected net in front of him, but just misfired on his potential game-tying shot through the crease, leaving New York (2-3-1) to lament a 1-2 trip instead of the winning one it was hoping for.
The puck trickled past Los Angeles goalie Darcy Kuemper and slid straight through to the other side of the net, failing to go past the goal line and give the Isles the equalizer they had been seeking since Casey Cizikas pulled them within a single score following his third goal of the season with 5:40 left in regulation.