Sidney Crosby beats Anders Nilsson for the overtime winner.
AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek

Nothing is going right for the Islanders. For a second consecutive game, victory was within reach. Similar to a brutal loss to the Caps on home ice, it was snatched away. This time, it was the division-leading Pens who stole two points. Sidney Crosby scored the overtime winner at 3:44 sending the Isles to a frustrating 3-2 OT loss at Nassau Coliseum. It was their seventh straight defeat.

Currently last in the Metro, it dropped them to a disappointing 8-15-5 record through their first 28 games. A far cry from what was envisioned by everyone. Even the biggest Islander detractor wouldn’t believe how far they’ve sunk. Injuries to defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky and Evgeni Nabokov haven’t helped. However, goaltending isn’t what cost them. For a second game in a row Swedish netminder Anders Nilsson was fine stopping 31 of 34 Pens’ shots. He did his part even making a great glove save late.

Defensive breakdowns have been the biggest Islander deficiency. They continue to get great mileage out of top pair Andrew MacDonald and Travis Hamonic. Both played over 29 minutes. Too much even for your best two defensemen. Without the veteran presence of Visnovsky, they just don’t have enough on the blueline. You can’t expect Calvin de Haan to be ready. However, the defensive state of the club is one of desperation. Thomas Hickey logged the third most minutes getting a surplus of 21. The bottom half can’t be de Haan, Aaron Ness and Matt Carkner. Rookie Matt Donovan didn’t play. Visnovsky remains out with a concussion and Brian Strait is down with an upper body injury since Oct. 24. That’s two guys they were relying on.

It can’t all be blamed on Jack Capuano. This is the same coach who guided them to a competitive first round before losing to the Pens in a hard fought six games. When the team loses, it’s always the head honcho who gets the blame. What about Islander GM Garth Snow? Where’s the depth? Why haven’t they been better since he traded popular forward Matt Moulson to Buffalo for Thomas Vanek? He gave up two draft picks in that deal. One prevailing thought is they don’t score many goals. Outside of Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo, the secondary scoring hasn’t been there. Josh Bailey has underachieved and Michael Grabner has disappeared following a strong start.

Both Islander goals were scored by Okposo, who continues to be on pace for a breakout year. He scored his seventh and eight goals less than three minutes apart during the first period from captain John Tavares. Vanek picked up an assist on the first while MacDonald added one on the second. The problem was they didn’t score the final 50:49. Marc-Andre Fleury only had to stop 14 shots after the first finishing with an unspectacular 21 saves. Not enough offense against a dangerous and talented bitter rival.

It took a while for the Pens to awaken. But when they did, there was no mistaking who the better team was. Pittsburgh doesn’t need much help. A lazy Tavares cross-checking minor with 45 seconds left in the second swung the game. Evgeni Malkin set up James Neal for a power play goal at 19:44 cutting the lead to 2-1. Less than seven minutes into the third, Ness went to the sin bin for hi-sticking. Before the sadly predictable occurred, Nielsen got a shorthanded breakaway. He was taken down from behind leading to a penalty shot. Exactly who the Islanders wanted taking the shot. Given his shootout success and career entering 2 for 2 on penalty shots, you had to feel good. They didn’t count on Nielsen hesitating before being stopped by Fleury.

Predictably, Malkin set up Crosby for the tying marker with 12:00 remaining in regulation. It got testy afterwards. Malkin mixed it up with Ness shoving him down. He then kept at it by cross-checking Tavares away from the play with 1:47 left. A dumb penalty to take for a borderline superstar who always plays on the edge. Personally, I dislike him. He always gets away with cheap shots. The Islanders still had a great opportunity to win the game. They didn’t take advantage. During the power play, Kris Letang took down Vanek twice. No call was made by ref tandem Dave Jackson and Francis Charron. At the end of his shift, Vanek lost his composure taking an ill advised slashing retaliation to negate the man-advantage.

The teams played three on three some in OT. It was all Pens. Nilsson made a tough stop on Letang and Neal missed the far side twice on Crosby set ups. Finally, with Tavares and Vanek coming out of their end, a relentless Crosby came in and stripped the puck away. He then went around de Haan and split Ness before one-handing one by Nilsson’s poke check for the winner. A tough one for the Islanders to swallow. They’ve been in every game against Pittsburgh. Similar to last Spring, each has been decided by a goal. They won the first one and dropped the last two. Both losses have been gut wrenching.

It gets even tougher with a five-game Western swing beginning Thursday in St. Louis. They also tour the Pacific with the Kings, Ducks, Sharks and Coyotes in succession before returning home for Montreal on Dec. 14. Might there be a new voice in the locker room? Or is that just a typical move for a franchise that never looks in the mirror. One can only guess.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Anders Nilsson, NYI (31 saves)

2nd Star-Evgeni Malkin, Pit (2 assists, 7 SOG, 4 PIM in 25:22)

1st Star-Sidney Crosby, Pit (2 goals incl. tying and OT winner-14, 15, 5 SOG, -1 in 26:48)