It would have been nice to delay the Maple Leafs clinching a playoff spot and prevent John Tavares from scoring against the Islanders on Coliseum ice, but both things were inevitable.
The real shame is that the Islanders failed to take advantage of a Capitals regulation loss and to create some more distance between themselves and the idle Penguins in case the Metro Division title didn’t come to fruition. But Frederik Andersen was determined to make sure his new, sensitive teammate wasn’t embarrassed again.
- Islanders fans still gave him some boos and there were some of the creative chants from last time in the beginning of the game, but for the most part, Tavares got off easy this time.