It’s fitting that, at the end of a year filled with goalie drama, the New York Islanders are going out with a bang.
The Isles lost 6-4 to Minnesota on Thursday, a game in which J-F Berube came on in relief of Jaroslav Halak, who was hooked after allowing four goals on 24 shots.
Afterward, Isles head coach Jack Capuano minced no words about Halak’s performance.
“It’s a tough loss,” Capuano said, per Newsday. “It’s too bad. Jaro wasn’t sharp at all. Some soft goals to start, and then we had to battle our way back in.
“We needed a better effort from Jaro, quite honestly. Four goals on 24 shots isn’t going to get it done.”
Halak did not come out to speak to reporters, despite being requested to appear.
— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) December 30, 2016
It’ll be interesting to hear what Halak has to say, whenever he decides to speak. Halak has previously been critical of the club’s three-goalie setup (Berube dressed ahead of Thomas Greiss for last night’s game) and, back in late October, his agent -- Octagon Hockey’s Allan Walsh -- took to Twitter to express those frustrations.
Not long after, the Isles reportedly explored trading Halak, but found no takers.
One has to wonder if Capuano’s remarks were just about last night’s effort. Halak hasn’t been good lately, allowing at least three goals in four of his last five starts. All told he’s allowed 19 goals on his last 172 shots faced, for a sub-par .890 save percentage.
