For a team backed into a corner, the New York Islanders were not aggressive enough offensively in Game 3 against the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night, WFAN's Boomer Esiason said.
Carolina beat the Isles 5-2 to take a 3-0 lead in the second-round playoff series. Friday's Game 4 will broadcast on the Islanders Hockey Network through the RADIO.COM app.
"There were so many times where whether it be Jordan Eberle or Josh Bailey or Mathew Barzal, where they have to shoot the puck. They just have to," Esiason said on Thursday's "Boomer and Gio" show. "They're trying to make the extra pass, they're trying to be cute, they're trying to get it to the guy that's open. You're not playing against (Montreal Canadiens goalie) Carey Price here at the height of his career. You're playing against Curtis McElhinney, who's a quality goaltender -- I'm not saying he's not -- but you have to test him."
McElhinney was filling in for Petr Mrazek, who missed the game due to a lower-body injury.
"Where I was disappointed with them last night was about eight minutes to go ... they couldn't get the puck out of their own end," Esiason's co-host, Gregg Giannotti, said of the Islanders. "That was the problem. I mean, the ice was tilted as if it was the Carolina Hurricanes who were down a goal, down 2-0 in the series. I mean, it was like a five-on-five power play for the Carolina Hurricanes for the better part of four minutes. That's the thing that drove me crazy."
Esiason added that it's obvious the Islanders are missing defenseman Johnny Boychuk, who has been out since suffering a lower-body injury in Game 4 of the first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"He is a big part of their defense," he said. "He's a guy that settles down the puck. He's a guy that takes so much pressure off the guys he plays with. And his injury is really wreaking havoc for them defensively."