The Islanders waited years to open UBS Arena. They’ll have to wait at least another day to get their first win there.
The announcement two hours before puck drop that three more Islanders — Andy Greene, Anthony Beauvillier and Adam Pelech — had been placed in COVID-19 protocols put a damper on the proceedings. The way the Islanders played without six of their regulars, due to a combination of the virus and injuries, made things worse.
Calgary was in control of the game from the start, and by the time the Islanders got their footing under them, it was too late. The Flames left the building with a 5-2 win, dropping the Isles to 5-7-2 in front of 17,255 at the brand new UBS Arena.
“Unfortunately we would love to have that result for our fan base, for ourselves,” coach Barry Trotz said. “But we didn’t get it. It was a 3-2 hockey game, two empty netters, we had plenty of chances.”
It wasn’t the call-ups — four of whom were in the lineup — who struggled either. Trotz praised their play after the game.
Matt Martin was a direct cause of Calgary’s first goal, turning the puck over in the defensive zone to Brad Richardson, who shot the puck past Semyon Varlamov at 4:05 in the first period.
The Flames took advantage again later in the first after the Islanders were called for too many men on the ice with an Andrew Mangiapane tip-in to make it 2-0.
“Honestly the first 10 minutes, some of the guys were a little bit paralyzed and over-amped up and it showed in our first two goals,” Trotz said. “Those first two goals we didn’t move our feet, we were just sort of paralyzed and the second one, we take a too many men on the ice penalty for just being amped up.”
Much of the game was played on special teams, and though Calgary controlled play for stretches at even strength, the Flames took six penalties, letting the Islanders stay in the game.
Still, the Isles struggled to get going on the power play. Without Anders Lee and Josh Bailey, two of their better creators offensively, Mat Barzal was often left to try and make things happen on his own.
But when they finally did break through, Brock Nelson scoring in the waning seconds of the first period, it was without Barzal on the ice. That would be their only successful power play of six, leaving them to rue opportunities missed.
Still, it counted as a positive moment, the crowd finally getting a chance to erupt after nearly 20 minutes of hockey it would have rather forgotten.
It did not erase the rest of the night.
At 6:43 in the second, the Flames brought their lead back to two goals when Andrew Mangiapane scored a power play goal, tipping Noah Hanfin’s shot from the blue line. Nelson made it 3-2 early in the third on his second goal of the night, and for a fleeting set of minutes, it felt like the building had a comeback in it.
The Islanders were suddenly playing with an energy they had lacked early on. But it was too little, too late.
“Little bit of adversity for us right now but thought we played a pretty good game,” Nelson said. “We had some momentum there. Just couldn’t get that one to tie it and flip it.”
The Flames needed Jacob Markstrom to stand on his head at points in the third, and he obliged, finishing with 34 saves to Semyon Varlamov’s 26. Ten of Markstrom’s came on high-danger chances, per Natural Stat Trick, and the Flames added two empty-net goals in the final minutes to make the effort worth it.
“I wish we got a point,” Trotz said. “We probably deserved a point in this one tonight.”
And now, much as it’s hard to assign blame for falling a game below .500 on a 13-game road trip, or for falling victim to the randomness of COVID breakthrough cases, the Islanders are staring down the barrel of some trouble.
They face a hot Maple Leafs team on Sunday before four straight intra-divisional games. They are on a five-game losing streak. They are missing their captain, their two best defensemen and two more key players in Beauvillier and Bailey.
It is only November, and the Islanders had some things to be happy about on Saturday, but the Metropolitan Division leaves little room for error. This can get off the rails, fast.
For some time, Saturday was seen as the light at the end of the tunnel. So what happens now that it’s come and gone with the Islanders in a worse position than they were a week ago?
“I wish I had something positive,” general manager Lou Lamoriello said before the game, when he announced the additional positive tests.
A moral victory won’t do much in that department.