A four game winning streak sent the New York Islanders into this week red hot. Unfortunately, their momentum was killed with a pair of disappointments against the Flyers and Predators. However, they were able to end the week on a high note with a triumphant win against the Blackhawks. Despite the losses, the Islanders remain top three in the Metro standings and top ten in the NHL standings.
Coming off an electric home win against the Flyers, the Isles were due to play them again in Philly on Tuesday. After some Flyers players took exception to a Alex Romanov hip check late in the home contest, there was bound to be some fireworks in this one. And sure enough there was, with two fights erupting in the first eight seconds. First it was Matt Martin tangling up with Zack MacEwan and Ross Johnston taking on Nicolas Deslauriers.
Shortly after the fighting was done, the Islanders got an early 5 on 3 opportunity which Noah Dobson converted for a 1-0 lead. That was the lone bright spot for the Islanders, as the game went completely downhill from this point. On the ensuing 5 on 4 power play, Travis Sanheim tied the game up with a shorthanded goal. Later in the period, Kevin Hayes went top shelf on Sorokin off a face-off to give Philly the 2-1 lead. No more scoring occurred until the late third period, when Hayes struck again with the net empty to hand the Islanders the 3-1 loss.
The Islanders have had no luck against the Nashville Predators over the last couple years. They had lost eight consecutive games to the Predators, with their last win coming in the 2017-18 season. Friday’s home contest offered a chance for the Isles to end that eight game losing streak, but again things didn’t go their way. The Islanders very nearly took an early lead off the stick of Anders Lee. However, upon official review the puck missed fully crossing the line by a hair and the game remained scoreless. Filip Forsberg then got the Predators started with a power play goal minutes later. They struck again on the man advantage in the second, with captain Roman Josi blasting a one-timer past Sorokin.
The Islanders finally had a response in the third period, with Mat Barzal ripping a wrister past Kevin Lankinen during a power play. Momentum swung heavily in the direction of the Islanders after this goal, but the Islanders couldn’t make the comeback. Lankinen played an amazing game in net, making a career high 49 saves to keep the Isles at bay. With the addition of Ryan McDonagh saving a puck with his face, the Islanders could never find the equalizer. The game was sealed when Dobson turned the puck over with the net empty and Matt Duchene cashed in an empty netter. Mikael Granlund added another empty netter for the 4-1 win, their ninth straight against the Islanders.
After back to back down performances, the Isles had a chance to turn things around with a home game against the struggling Chicago Blackhawks. And sure enough, an explosive second period helped provide that for the Islanders. The game’s first goal was an odd one from Matt Martin. It looked like he had just missed beating Arvid Soderblom with a shot up close. On a stoppage around two minutes later, the officials reviewed the play and determined the puck crossed the line, giving the Islanders a one goal lead.
This got the Islanders buzzing, with Zach Parise deflecting an Adam Pelech shot shortly after for a second goal. Less than a minute after that one, Anthony Beauvillier set up Brock Nelson for a wicked one timer for their third and final goal. Semyon Varlamov played a great game in net, saving 21 shots en route to his first shutout this season.
Despite the 1-2 record on the week, this was still an encouraging week of play. Tuesday’s game against the Flyers was the lone performance where the team fell completely flat after a good start. But against the Predators, the Isles had a performance that would net them at least one point in most circumstances. They just so happen to run into a red hot Kevin Lankinen who refused to be beat.
The only true concern in this one was the PK unit, which hasn’t looked nearly as strong as it did through the first couple weeks of the season. They capped off the week with their best all around performance against the Blackhawks, taking two points from a bad team like they should. There are some notable struggles with this Islanders team as they can be a tad inconsistent. But their overall body of work is a vast improvement over last year’s output and they haven’t had any majorly concerning qualities to this point in time.
1. Brock Nelson (Goal, two assists)
2. Mat Barzal (PPG, assist)
3. Semyon Varlamov (21 save shutout win against Blackhawks)
Featured image courtesy of Twitter/@NYIslanders
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