The Islanders went 1-1-1 in their three games this week. They lost in a shootout to the Senators, made a triumphant comeback against the Penguins and had an embarrassing loss to the Bruins. The three points gained this week puts the Islanders at 63 on the season. They’re ahead of the Capitals by one for the second wild card spot and are tied with the Penguins for the first wild card spot, the Penguins still having multiple games in hand.
Shootout Dooms the Islanders in Loss to Senators
Having lost their last two, the Islanders looked to get back on track at home against the Ottawa Senators. The start of this game was very uninspiring, with the Isles barely escaping the first in a scoreless tie. Despite the rough start, Ryan Pulock ripped a wrister into the back of the net to give the Isles a second period lead. But they couldn’t preserve that one goal lead, with Tim Stutzle taking a shot that bounced off of Pulock’s stick to tie it up.
At the 3:41 mark of the third, Brady Tkachuk was left virtually undefended in front of Sorokin to score a tip-in, power play goal to put the Senators up one. Just minutes after the Senators’ power play goal, Brock Nelson scored his own tally on the man advantage with a slap shot from the circle. However, that would be the last goal the Islanders would get against the debuting Kevin Mandolese. The rookie made 46 saves between regulation and overtime. The Islanders squandered an overtime power play chance for a second straight game and followed that up with yet another scoreless shootout attempt. Stutzle and Drake Batherson provided the two goals needed to give the Senators a 2-1 victory via shootout.
Third Period Rally Fuels Massive Win Against Penguins
Friday night’s home game was a critical one for the Isles given how close they are to the
Pittsburgh Penguins in the playoff race. The Penguins would strike first when Sidney Crosby snuck one by Sorokin. Then just two minutes later, the Islanders answered back with one of the stranger goals you’ll see. Anders Lee batted a loose puck off of Casey DeSmith’s midsection and into the back of the empty net.
With a tie game in the second, the Islanders had a trainwreck of a period. Rickard Rackell and Jason Zucker put the Penguins up 3-1 as Pittsburgh dominated zone time early on. Boos rained down from the rafters at UBS Arena as Lane Lambert quickly called a timeout. At 14:25, Nelson finally got the Isles going again after scoring on a wrap around attempt. Rakell and Lee would both score their second goals of the contest within the final minute of the second period. That sent the Penguins into the third with a 4-3 advantage.
The third period proved to be the most consistent period the Islanders would play. Nelson netted a power play goal from the circle yet again to tie things up at four. With a tied game heading into the dying minutes of the period, Zach Parise played the hero. Nelson set him up with a great pass to score in his 1,200th game, giving the Islanders a 5-4 lead. They managed to stave off the Penguins attack with the net empty and picked up a critical come from behind victory.
Islanders Routed by Bruins in Final Game of the Week
After a massive victory against the Penguins, the Islanders traveled to Boston to play the league best Bruins. Any momentum gained from Friday’s victory was quickly erased in this one. After an extended absence due to injury, Jake DeBrusk returned to net the game’s first goal with a power play marker. Next up was Nick Foligno, who was given a lot of room from the circle to put the Bruins up by two goals. Finally was Trent Frederic, tipping in a big shot from Charlie McAvoy to give the Bruins a 3-0 lead to end the opening period.
The Isles received a glimmer of hope in the second when Kyle Palmieri scored a tip-in goal of his own. But the Bruins continued to pummel Varlamov and the Islanders in embarrassing fashion to kill any hopes of another comeback win. Patrice Begeron, Frederic, and Pavel Zacha scored three consecutive goals to take a commanding 6-1 lead. Matt Martin scored the only goal in the third period, his seventh of the season. The Bruins would hand the Islanders a dominating 6-2 loss while also sweeping the season series.
Takeaway
This week wound up being disastrous yet productive for the Islanders. Make no bones about it, they did not play quality hockey this week. They squandered another winnable contest against the Senators and got humiliated by the Bruins. The game against the Penguins was also pretty bad, but the one good period they played made all the difference. Taking that win was huge in their mission to make the postseason. Despite how badly this week went, they got themselves back in a playoff spot with the Penguins and Capitals floundering as well.
The three game losing streak against the Canucks, Canadiens and Senators was a huge missed opportunity for the Isles to gain some major headway in the playoff race. It’ll be a tough pill to swallow if they miss out on the postseason on account of those lost points. But for right now they’ve been given a mulligan by still being in the race despite their poor stretch of play. There needs to be a quick turnaround if the Islanders want to hold on to this postseason spot.
3 Stars of the Week
1. Brock Nelson: (2 PPG, 1 G and an assist; 12 game point streak/four game goal streak prior to Bruins loss)
2. Anders Lee (2 goals, 2 assist; 3 points in win vs. Penguins)
3. Mat Barzal (3 assists)
Credits
Featured image courtesy of ESPN
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