The Islanders went 2-1 in three games played this week. This week’s slate featured a home loss against the Avalanche, followed by wins against the Senators at home and the Blue Jackets on the road. The Islanders have a 4-2-1 record with nine total points so far.
For the second straight year, the Avalanche and the Islanders participated in a thriller at UBS Arena. The Avalanche dominated play in the early going and got a power-play goal off the stick of Ryan Johansen. Cal Clutterbuck answered back with a deflection goal off of a Noah Dobson shot midway through the period. But just minutes later, Cale Makar got some space and beat Sorokin with a backhander to take back the lead.
Down 2-1 in the second, the Islanders played some of their best hockey of the game. Kyle Palmieri got the game-tying goal on the man advantage at the 2:56 mark. Then Simon Holmstrom unleashed a great shot to put the Islanders up 3-2 shortly after. The Islanders did a great job protecting that lead up until the final minute. They then got sloppy, allowing goals to Bowen Byram and Nathan MacKinnon 13 seconds apart to suddenly face a 4-3 deficit heading into intermission.
Anders Lee opened the third with a tremendous effort to score his first of the year and tie it back up. However, Mikko Rantanen scored just a few minutes later to put the Avalanche back on top. The Islanders had no more answers for Alexandar Georgiev and the Avalanche in this one. A pair of empty netters from Ryan Johansen and Ross Colton finalized a 7-4 loss for the Islanders.
This game serves as the textbook definition of an “ugly win” for the Islanders. It didn’t start off ugly, as the Islanders played a good first period. Bo Horvat scored a power play goal at 2:41 to open up scoring, with Clutterbuck scoring his second of the year to double the lead. Sorokin and the Islanders defense kept the Senators quiet, and it seemed to have the makings of a good performance. However, the second period came about and the entire game unraveled. The Senators dominated zone time and unleashed a barrage of shots throughout the period. On top of that, the Islanders committed six second period penalties. Claude Giroux scored the Senators’ first goal on the man advantage at 6:52, with Jakob Chychrun tying the game at the 12:25 mark.
Things didn’t get much better in the third, but the Islanders did get a goal back. Dobson scored what would be the game-winning goal on a strong shot from the point early into the period. Sorokin played a huge role in preserving the one-goal lead in the period as the Senators continued their high pressure attack. Sorokin finished with 45 total saves in the game. The team defense held on in the dying minutes of the third to secure a 3-2 win.
Semyon Varlamov got his second start of the season in the Islanders second road game of the season. Palmieri got things going in the first period, burying a rebounded shot from Pierre Engvall. From there, both sides played a scoreless game until the third period. While the Islanders played a slightly improved defensive game in this one, Varlamov was the biggest difference-maker. He made 34 saves in the game, most importantly stopping 16 Blue Jacket shots during the third. Matt Martin provided an insurance marker on a rebounded shot to solidify a 2-0 shutout win for the Islanders.
1. Noah Dobson (GWG vs. Senators, 3 assists)
2. Kyle Palmieri (2 goals including GWG vs. Blue Jackets, assist)
3. Cal Clutterbuck (2 goals, assist)
Featured image courtesy of X/@NYIslanders
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