Islanders let another two-goal lead slip away in frustrating loss to Bruins

BOSTON — For the second time in four days, the Islanders had a two-goal lead and looked in control of a game on the road.And for the second time in four games, they failed to walk out of the building with two points in hand.This time, with the Bruins coming off a blowout loss the night before, after which their coach questioned the team’s buy-in, was all the more inexcusable as the Islanders frittered away a strong start to lose 5-2 to the Bruins after going 0-for-5 on the power plays.Worse yet, they had every chance to grab hold of the game for a second time with the Bruins leading 3-2, including a double-minor high-sticking penalty on Hampus Lindholm at the end of the second.But the Islanders, who had scored on a delayed penalty earlier in the night, came up with nothing on the four-minute power play that spanned either side of the second intermission.Not only that, but when given a second chance at a power play only minutes later, they again came up short, this time after both Jonathan Drouin and Kyle Palmieri failed to convert grade A chances.And when Adam Pelech slashed Nikita Zadorov to put the Bruins — who had already scored on the man advantage — on a power play of their own, Morgan Geekie made the Islanders pay in short order, extending the lead to 4-2 with a one-timer from atop the left circle.For good measure, the Islanders would add yet another scoreless power play before the game’s final buzzer, making it an even 10 minutes at five-on-four without a goal.The Bruins ended any fledgling hopes of a comeback with 3:23 to go when Fraser Minten took advantage of Mat Barzal’s turnover to score into an empty net.The power play was one key ingredient in why they dropped these two points.

The other was their failure to keep the ball rolling after a strong start.The Islanders dominated the first 20 minutes, looking every bit the superior team, then came out flat in the second and never fully regained momentum.They took two consecutive penalties in the...