The New York Islanders went winless in their four games played this week. They suffered road losses to the Kings, Sabres and Rangers as well as an overtime loss at home against the Senators. They have a 29-23-15 record with 73 total points this season. The losing streak knocked them out of a playoff spot as they’re now one point behind the Red Wings in the wild card race and three points behind the Flyers for third in the Metro.
Winning Streak Snapped Against the Kings
The Islanders’ six-game winning streak ended at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night. The Kings completely stifled the Islanders offense, as their opportunities were few and far between. What hurt the team the most was their performance on the power play, as they went 0/5 with the man advantage. This included an unsuccessful six-on-five opportunity at the end of the game.
The Kings only needed two five-on-five goals to beat the Islanders in this one. The first of these goals came in the second period, with Adrian Kempe beating Ilya Sorokin with a shot from the right circle. In the third period, Phillip Danault tipped in a shot from Jordan Spence. They added an empty net goal from Trevor Moore to pick up the 3-0 win. David Rittich picked up a shutout in the victory, stopping all 26 Islander shots.
Back to Back Shutout Losses
Another ugly offensive performance followed Monday’s loss, as the Islanders were shutout by the Buffalo Sabres. They were outpaced by the Sabres early and often, with the Sabres maintaining a significant advantage in shots on goal. In a similar fashion to Monday’s game, they did hold their opposition scoreless in the first. However, the wheels completely came off in the second period.
Victor Olofsson started the Sabres scoring run with a power play goal at the 4:28 mark of the period. Then, Dylan Cozens got a prime chance on a rebounded shot to go up by two. Zach Benson made it 3-0 when he deflected in a slap shot from Henri Jokiharju. The Islanders had another bad night on the power play, going 0/4 and failing to get themselves back in the game. They attempted a last-ditch effort to score with the net empty, but it was unsuccessful for the second straight game. Benson got the empty netter for his second goal of the night to officially end this game. The Sabres handed the Islanders their second straight shutout loss, with Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen making all 21 saves in the 4-0 win.
Late Game Heroics Salvage a Point in a Loss to the Senators
Returning to UBS Arena after a long road trip, the Islanders were defeated in overtime by the Ottawa Senators. After going scoreless for two straight games, the Islanders broke their drought and got the game’s first goal. Moments after a power play opportunity, Matt Martin got a wrap-around goal past Joonas Korpisalo. They held this one-goal lead until the 11:46 mark of the second period, when Brady Tkachuk got a wide-open look from the left circle.
With the game tied, J.G. Pageau set up Kyle Palmieri to score the go-ahead goal from a wide angle later in the period. Starting the third with the lead, the Islanders began to collapse. Ridley Greig and Tim Stutzle were left alone in front of Semyon Varlamov, with Greig scoring the game-tying goal after an exchange of passes. Over halfway through the period, Tkachuk scored his second goal of the game, quickly capitalizing on a power play opportunity.
Now trailing, the Islanders began desperately looking for the equalizer. They got their golden opportunity with a power play chance with just under two minutes to go. They emptied their net to set up a six-on-four, in which Bo Horvat scored to send this game to overtime and secure a much-needed point. In overtime, the Islanders couldn’t pick up the second point and continued their week-long spiral. Tkachuck completed the hat trick on a Senators power play to give them a 4-3 overtime win.
Losing Streak Continues Against the Rangers
The final game of the week saw the Islanders lose to the New York Rangers in a St. Patrick’s Day matinee. The Islanders opened the scoring while shorthanded, as Brock Nelson set up Horvat with a perfect cross pass. Despite having the lead, the Islanders continued what has been a rough string of second periods this season. Just 27 seconds into the frame, Mika Zibanejad unleashed a laser to tie the game at one. Then, at the 10:14 mark, Will Cuylle buried the go-ahead goal for the Rangers while coming in on the rush. Horvat got the Islanders back on track with a high effort goal while tied up with a Rangers defender for his second of the game. But just over a minute later, Johnny Brodzinski got a deflection goal to again put the Islanders down one.
Coming into the third period, the Rangers deflated any hopes of an Islanders comeback. Kaapo Kakko found his way through four defenders to beat Sorokin and put his team up by two. Alexis Lafreniere later scored to give the Rangers a hefty three-goal cushion en route to the victory. The Islanders had no answers for Igor Shesterkin in the third and suffered a 5-2 loss. This marked their fourth straight loss that came directly off of their six-game winning streak.
Three Stars of the Week
1. Bo Horvat (Game-tying goal vs. Senators, two goals against Rangers)
2. Brock Nelson (Two assists)
3. Kyle Palmieri (Sixth goal in March)
Featured image courtesy of NHL.com
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