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Filppula, Bolts flush Isles’ efforts down the toilet

tbltiegetty

James OBrien

When you haven’t won a game in regulation for 16 games, it might be tough to pick out the losses that sting the most. Still, Tuesday’s defeat has to rank high for the floundering New York Islanders.

Frans Nielsen gave the Isles a 2-0 lead midway through the third period, yet things slipped away late in the game. Valtteri Filppula scored two goals - one with about three minutes left, the tying tally with a brutal four seconds remaining - to send the game to OT. The Islanders eventually fell short 3-2 in the shootout, prompting Evgeni Nabokov to provide New York Newsday’s Arthur Staple with this dour quote.

“We don’t know how to win the games right now,” Nabokov said. “All our efforts [go] down the toilet.”

(Head coach Jack Capuano was ... less verbose.)

Here’s video of that late goal:

The Islanders only have one win in December (3-2 in shootout on Dec. 10) and just five wins overall since November rolled around. At this point, one might need to grasp at straws (two straight games with a standings point!) to find positives.

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins