Islanders Are Routed as Backup Goalie Falters Quickly Bruce Bennett/Getty Images On Presidents Day, mascots of presidents raced at the Islanders' game with, fittingly, the Senators. UNIONDALE, N.Y. - Kevin Poulin, the Islanders" promising young goaltender, fished the puck out of the net and fired it angrily at the boards after allowing his second goal in 27 seconds on Monday. Then Poulin was pulled, done for the day after 95 seconds. Less than 48 hours after Poulin had helped the Islanders pull out a victory over the Carolina Hurricanes that put them at .500 and propelled them tantalizingly closer to a playoff berth, the Ottawa Senators unloaded on the Islanders before 15,818 at Nassau Coliseum, posting a 6-0 victory. Asked what he was thinking as he was benched, Poulin sighed and said: "You're just disappointed. You're just frustrated. You're just going through a lot of emotions and are just sick to your stomach. You're just mad at yourself. You want to make those saves, and you want to be in the net and win. The Islanders (25-26-8) had won 9 of 15 games and had earned a point in two other games to pull to 6 points behind Toronto, the Eastern Conference's eighth-place team. Poulin, a 21-year-old from Montreal with braces and a shaggy beard, started because Evgeni Nabokov, the top goalie, had the flu. But Poulin is talented; the Islanders would like to continue building around Nabokov, who is 36, and Poulin. He is also hardy, which helps when playing for the Islanders. A year ago, Poulin dislocated his left kneecap while warming up for a game and was done for the season. He has been recalled five times this season from the Islanders" Bridgeport farm team. Then came Monday, when a shot by Ottawa defenseman Erik Karlsson skipped along the goal line, hit Poulin's stick and went in 68 seconds into the game. "You try that 100 times, and maybe it goes in once," said defenseman Mark Streit, the Islanders" captain. Jason Spezza scored on the Senators" fifth shot, taking a pass from Nick Foligno in the slot and firing it past Poulin. The Islanders" passive defense was more to blame, but Poulin said he should have stopped Spezza's shot. "We're in February and we're going for the playoffs," Poulin said of the loss to the Senators (31-22-8), who are in seventh place. That was actually a 4-point game, and we lost. It was a huge game, but there's a lot of hockey to be played, and we've just got to put that game away. We have another game tomorrow. On Tuesday, the Islanders play another desperate team, the Sabres, in Buffalo. "I don't know where Nabokov is in terms of his health right now," Coach Jack Capuano said. So Capuano may be forced to choose between Poulin and Al Montoya, the other backup. Montoya was not exactly brilliant after replacing Poulin, allowing four goals on 27 shots. Montoya has not won since Dec. 17. Rick DiPietro, the goaltender who signed a record 15-year, $67.5 million contract in 2006, is out indefinitely with a sports hernia and knee swelling. He has played in 172 games since signing the contract, including 47 in the last four seasons. Just as the Islanders began teasing their fans with a move toward their first playoff berth in five seasons, they collapsed Monday. "We didn't give him much help," forward Matt Moulson said of Poulin. Late in the second period, the fans booed when the Islanders could not get the puck out of their zone during a power play, booed again when they could not get the puck over the red line, then booed a third time when Ottawa cleared the puck with ease from its zone. Poulin's poor start was just a memory by then, and forward Josh Bailey said the badly timed rout was a team effort. "Everyone has off-games," Bailey said. Bad bounces happen. It's going to happen during the course of the season. You just have to move on from it. Goalies know that and move on from it. We as players don't come in and yell at them or anything like that. After the game, Poulin packed his equipment bag quickly for the trip to Buffalo and left the dressing room while most reporters were talking to Streit. Poulin had a chance to help keep the Islanders in a groove, and he was undone, partly by one bad bounce. "Everybody's battling for playoff spots," Streit said, "and if you start with two goals against right away, it's tough to come back into the game. We don't score that many goals, if you check the stats. PREDATORS RE-SIGN G.M. The Nashville Predators extended the contract of David Poile, who has been the franchise's general manager since its inception 14 years ago. The Predators have won 40 or more games in each of the last six seasons.