The Islanders found themselves on the wrong end of a missed penalty and an inaccurate call in Game 2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night.
After Alex Killorn was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for a late hit from behind on Brock Nelson in the first period, the Islanders’ center was cross-checked in the back of the neck by Barclay Goodrow in the second period on his first shift after coming back from concussion protocol in the locker room. There was no call on the play.
“Obviously, we didn’t love the [first] hit on him, the refs made the right call,” Matt Martin said on a Zoom call following the 2-1 loss in Edmonton. “And yeah we didn’t like the cheap shot, cross-check to his head either. Unfortunately, it is what it is. They missed that one.
“Thankfully, Brock is OK. He’s a huge part of our team, plays in all situations, but yeah we didn’t like it, that’s for sure.”
Nelson assured that he was feeling good after going through the necessary protocols and precautions ordered by the doctors.
“Yeah it’s just one of those days, kind of felt like you were getting hit quite a bit,” he said. “But that’s part of the game.”
Coach Barry Trotz noted that the first hit Nelson took was a “dangerous play” but added the referees made the right call on Killorn. As for the second hit, Trotz felt like Nelson was targeted.
“The second one, I just thought that was a target at the head,” Trotz said. “They knew he was hurt, they targeted him a little bit. The league handles it, they look at it thoroughly.”
After acknowledging how much he’s learned from the referees and linesmen inside the NHL’s bubbles and his new-found appreciation for their job, Trotz pointed to an inaccurate icing call that led to the Lightning’s game-tying goal in the first.
Islanders defenseman Devon Toews looked to have made an ill-advised dump of the puck from the red line, but a replay showed that Lightning defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk got a stick on it. The Lightning won the ensuing faceoff and Victor Hedman put one away to tie the game 1-1.
“On their first goal, we were sure that they tipped it and it shouldn’t have been an icing call,” Trotz said. “That’s why our bench was so upset. There’s going to be things that are missed, not called. You have to play through it. That’s playoff hockey. We win the faceoff, we’re not even talking about it.”
Andrew Ladd made his 2020 playoff debut, replacing Derick Brassard on Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s wing.
“I knew he was ready,” Trotz said of the 34-year-old Ladd. “The coaches said he was ready and he’s scored a lot of goals in the net front. He can help us on the power play, good wall play and all that. I just felt it was his time. I trust him. He’s got about 900 games of NHL experience and all that. That line was good today. All that being said, he prepared for this moment and I thought he acquitted himself very well.”
It was Ladd’s first game action since March 10 and his first postseason appearance since April 2016 when he was with the Chicago Blackhawks. Additionally, Leo Komarov was inserted back into the lineup for the first time since Game 6 against the Philadelphia Flyers.