The New York Islanders, who trailed 2-0 in their series against the Carolina Hurricanes, believe they deserved a better fate than a disappointing 4-3 loss in Game 2 on Wednesday, and they still have a bitter taste to their stay in Raleigh.
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The end of the last game is a hot topic in the Islanders camp, who failed to appreciate the work of umpires Francis Charron and Jake Brenk. Just before Jesper Fast’s crucial net, the pair missed a penalty to Jordan Martinook, whose high stick landed in the face of Scott Mayfield. He too continued to protest to the officials while the winners celebrated their success.
Also, all of Charron and Brenk’s work was taboo to head coach Lane Lambert, who was aware that public criticism of it could land him a fine from the National Hockey League. Even so, he resented the small number of penalties imposed on the Hurricanes, which were sanctioned only once in the evening.
“Yes, [ça me dérange], he admitted, adding that the islanders will seek an explanation from race officials regarding the Martinook-Mayfield case. I only saw a sample of the footage. But Scott was in trouble and trying to recover from the blow.
When the defense attorney wasn’t debating with the journalists, the hardy Matt Martin spoke up, poorly hiding his distress. “I think they probably deserved a penalty at some point in the duel. I don’t know what you think about it, and I have no idea about the tally, but it is,” he said, according to the New York Post.
And as for the famous sequence, the anger is palpable. “What do you think?” he asked without adding more.
“I didn’t see the gesture. Of course there is a lot of frustration here,” added full-back Noah Dobson.
No room for discouragement
Despite the two early defeats, there’s no time for moaning in the dressing room and the Islanders are looking to roll up their sleeves to save their skin at Friday’s third meeting of the series at the UBS Arena.
“We see the positive. We were in the driver’s seat and in a good position to win this meeting. It didn’t happen, but if we analyze the game, we tell ourselves that there were a lot of good things. The difference was a couple of weird goals,” veteran Zach Parisé told NHL.com.