It Goes to Eleven

It was brutal in the locker room after the game. This game, that they should have won, escaped them. There were many factors to the loss. Most of which are born out of frustration.

Matt Moulson had his head smashed against the glass and lost his helmet, but that only made him angry and he came back to score against Dan Ellis. When Matt scored to cut the lead in half, he didn't celebrate, when John Tavares shoveled in a puck that was a Moulson rebound and he was exhuberant. The Isles were still losing.

In the final minutes there was a burst of energy by a few players, but we all wondered where it had been thoughtout the game. Where was the sense of urgency that a team facing it's eleventh loss should have shown? It was wearing white and blue and skating on the other end of the ice.

There were many bowed heads in the locker room. There were many blank stares. PA Parenteau sat without undressing, motionless, waiting for the media to ask the tough questions. Tavares spoke to MSG on camera in his typical unemotional tone. Matt Moulson was mobbed and James Wisniewski was animated talking to two reporters. Many players just tried to get out of the room as quickly as possible so as to not have to speak.


Josh Bailey sat angrily tugging at his skate laces. Every face in the room looked like you would when you've lost your best friend. I carefully approached Josh and asked if he could speak. He nodded knowing this was his job and he had to be professional. I on the other hand, asked again. "Are you sure?"

I tried to ask a question about the two penalties he took and found myself stumbling. He looked at his hands. I had said I was going to mother-slap someone in the room if they lost this game. I felt as if I done it by pointing out his mistake. For that, it broke my heart. His answer was pained yet technical "Both, I was just trying to be hard on the puck. It broke my stick when I went hard on his stick. So..." then he cleared his throat thinking about the second penalty. "I just gave him a push, I didn't think I pushed him that hard, but he was in a vulnerable position. Obviously, the way he went to the wall required a penalty."

Roloson kept them in the game facing numerous shots. "You can't be giving up that many shots like we were playing. Obviously, Roli stood on his head once again and kept us in the game, but we've been having that too much lately. It's time for the forwards to step up and steal a game rather than having the goalie keep us in every game."

I looked around the room again. It was more than I could stand. I actually had to leave. I went to sit in the media room waiting for Jack Capuano. While I was there, a young reporter turned to me and said "I can't imagine how you feel. I've only been doing this for a few months. I can't imagine how a life-long fan feels about now."

I'll tell you. The same way the players do. We want to cry.