New York Islanders Weekly Recap – Week 6

The New York Islanders went 2-0-1 and picked up five points in their three games played this week. They picked up wins against the Flyers at home and the Senators on the road. The only loss of the week came by way of a shootout in the second of their two home meetings against the Flyers this week. The Islanders’ record is 8-6-6, and they have 22 total points.

Brock Nelson Leads the Way to a Home Win Over the Flyers

On Thanksgiving Eve, the Islanders returned to UBS Arena to host the Flyers for the first time this season. Anders Lee got the team off on the right foot in the first period with a high-effort goal to beat Carter Hart. The next goal wouldn’t come until the second period, when Brock Nelson redirected an Adam Pelech shot from the point. Just a minute later, the Flyers answered back with a goal from Cam York that came off a big rebound. 

Early into the final period, Pierre Engvall set up Nelson with a great pass to score his second goal of the game to take a 3-1 lead. The Islanders held the Flyers at bay for most of the period, but they weren’t done just yet. At 15:56, Bobby Brink set up Joel Farabee with a well placed cross pass to score and cut the lead down to one. Despite some very nervous moments towards the end of the game, they did not suffer a third period collapse. The Islanders held on and picked up a 3-2 win over the Flyers.

Win vs. Senators Features Injuries and Wild Second Period 

On Friday night, the Islanders traveled to Ottawa for the second meeting against the Senators. The Senators got ahead of the Islanders in the first period, courtesy of a power play goal from Drake Batherson. Kyle Palmieri then got the game tied back up on a rebounded shot at the 13:55 mark of the period. The unfortunate news out of the first was that the Islanders would only have four defensemen for the rest of the game as Pelech and Sebastian Aho suffered injuries. 

The following period provided some wild twists and turns on the scoreboard. The Senators had thought they had taken the lead on a Parker Kelly goal. However, a successful coach’s challenge for offsides brought this game back even. Shortly after, Oliver Wahlstrom got the go-ahead goal on a deflection. Just minutes after that goal, Mat Barzal capitalized on a power play to put the Islanders up by two. Then, in a sequence that tied a team record, Lee scored six seconds after Barzal to take a 4-1 lead in the game. However, the big lead didn’t last long as the Senators got a few fast goals of their own. Tim Stutzle scored a minute after Lee, then Batherson got his second of the game just 47 seconds after Stutzle’s to suddenly make it a one-goal game again. 

After Lane Lambert took a timeout to settle the team down, they played a much more solid defensive game. The combined efforts of Semyon Varlamov and a depleted defensive unit helped keep the Senators off the board for the rest of the game. Simon Holmstrom added a deflection goal in the third to secure an eventful 5-3 win. 

Scoreless Game Leads to Shootout Loss Against the Flyers

On a night where the Islanders celebrated Cal Clutterbuck’s 1,000th game, the Islanders hosted the Flyers for the second time in a week. The big difference in this game was the lack of scoring action. Ilya Sorokin and Samuel Ersson both shut out their opposition throughout regulation and overtime. Sorokin had a lot more work to handle than Ersson, as the Flyers outshot the Islanders 40-25 in the contest. Both teams’ scoring droughts lasted up until the fourth round of the shootout, when Tyson Foerster got the game’s one and only goal. The Flyers picked up a 1-0 shootout win over the Islanders to snap their three-game win streak. 

Featured image courtesy of X/@NYIslanders

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