The Islanders went 1-0-2 in their three games played this week. The week featured two blown third period leads at home, resulting in losses to the Red Wings and Hurricanes. The Islanders did, however, pick up a resounding victory on the road against the Capitals. They have a 5-2-3 record with 15 total points.
Messy Third Leads to Overtime Loss to Detroit
Monday’s home game featured a home affair against a high-scoring Detroit Red Wings team. In a tightly contested game with no score in the second period, the Islanders would finally break the stalemate. While on the penalty kill, Casey Cizikas got off on a break and beat Ville Husso with a backhand move. Noah Dobson would double the advantage in the first minute of the third with an excellent one-timer. While the Islanders seemed to be cruising towards a big win, they completely lost control of a Red Wings offense they had stifled for two periods.
First, Daniel Sprong got a great look in front of Ilya Sorokin to cut the lead down to one. Not even a full two minutes later, Jake Walman got the game-tying marker. Then, in another two minutes after that, Mortiz Seider set up a wide open J.T. Compher to give the Red Wings a 3-2 lead. Down a goal late, Bo Horvat came up clutch on a big power play opportunity to tie the game and secure a point for the Islanders. However, they could not secure the extra point in overtime as Compher and Lucas Raymond broke off on a two-on-one, with Raymond burying the game-winning goal in a 4-3 final score.
Back to Back Shutouts for Varlamov in Win Against Capitals
The Islanders traveled to Washington on Thursday for their first game against the Capitals this season. They quickly got ahead in this one, with Ryan Pulock delivering a goal just 22 seconds into the contest. Later in the first, Hudson Fasching and Simon Holmstrom got a two-on-one opportunity that Holmstrom capitalized on to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead. In the second, Brock Nelson buried a shot past Darcy Kuemper at the 11:15 mark for the period’s only goal. This would send the Islanders into the third with a 3-0 lead despite being outshot 22-10 in the game.
Semyon Varlamov had played a great game and would continue to do so throughout the third. His shutout was nearly broken up by T.J. Oshie; however, a successful challenge for goaltender interference would preserve an eventual 32-save shutout from Varlamov. The Islanders would win by a final score of 3-0, while Varlamov picked up his second consecutive shutout with 30+ saves.
Another Blown Third Period Lead at Home Results in OT Loss to Hurricanes
In a rematch of last season’s first round playoff matchup, the Islanders hosted the Hurricanes on Saturday night. Dobson got things going late in the first, taking a feed from Mat Barzal and scoring on a backhand shot. The Islanders kept on rolling in the second when Holmstrom scored his second two-on-one goal of the week, this time assisted by J.G. Pageau while short-handed. Barzal buried a shot past Antti Raanta at the 7:11 mark of the period to give the team another 3-0 lead. Jalen Chatfield scored just 32 seconds after Barzal’s goal to get the Hurricanes on the board.
With that, the Islanders would enter the third with a multiple-goal lead despite facing a 28-19 deficit on shots in a very similar fashion to Thursday’s game. But unlike Thursday’s game, the team would not be able to hold onto the lead. At the 12:19 mark of the third, Dmitry Orlov launched his first goal of the season past Sorokin to cut the lead to one. This was followed up by Jesperi Kotkaniemi getting a power play goal to tie the game and eventually send it to overtime. In relatively short order, Sebastian Aho got a good look and drove in the game-winner, handing the Islanders a 4-3 overtime loss. The Islanders were outshot 19-5 between the third period and overtime and faced a shocking 101-38 deficit in offensive chances.
Three Stars of the Week
1. Bo Horvat (Goal, three assists)
2. Brock Nelson (Two goals, assist)
3. Noah Dobson (Goal, two assists)
Featured image courtesy of X/@NYIslanders
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