New York Islanders Weekly Recap (3/20-3/26)

The New York Islanders went 1–1-1 in their three games played this week. They dominated the Maple Leafs before dropping back to back games to the Blue Jackets in overtime and the Sabres in regulation. The three points gained this week puts the Islanders at 83 total points for the season. The Islanders lead the Penguins by one point and the Panthers by four points with the Penguins and Panthers each having a game in hand on the Islanders. 

Islanders Drop Seven on the Maple Leafs

The Islanders opened play this week with a tough home matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Things did not get off to an ideal start for the Isles as the Leafs had control throughout the first period. The Leafs got the game’s first goal after a shot from Timothy Liljegren went in off of Sam Lafferty. They should’ve taken a 2-0 lead not too long after if not for the heroics of Ilya Sorokin. Erik Gustafsson had a wide open net to shoot at until Sorokin dived and saved the shot with his stick. This save of the year candidate saved the game from potentially getting out of hand and allowed for the Islanders’ eventual comeback. 

In the first minute of the second, Scott Mayfield set up a perfect cross pass to Zach Parise to tie the game on Ilya Samsonov’s glove side. At the 13:50 mark of the period, Hudson Fasching picked up a turned over puck and scored the go-ahead goal from the circle. Cal Clutterbuck added onto the scoring barrage, deflecting a Ryan Pulcok shot past Samsonov. 

A wicked slapshot goal off the stick of Mitch Marner brought the Leafs back to within one early in the third. But the Islanders were quick to respond with Clutterbuck forcing a turnover and scoring his second of the game on a break. At the midway point of the period, Simon Holmstrom poked in a loose puck in front of the net to put the Islanders up by three. With the Leafs net empty, Noah Dobson launched the puck from the other side of the ice to score and make it a 6-2 game. Anders Lee added one more goal for good measure when he deflected a shot from Dobson. The Islanders would blow out the Maple Leafs with a 7-2 final score.

Poor Second Period Against the Blue Jackets Costs the Islanders a Point

Friday’s game saw the Islanders travel to Columbus to play the last place Blue Jackets. Parise got the Islanders going in this one, snapping a shot past Michael Hutchinson in the first period. With a one goal lead in the second period the Islanders had some defensive struggles. Johnny Gaudreau tied the game up on a power play at the 4:58 mark of the period. Brock Nelson responded 32 seconds later and took back the lead with his 31st goal of the season. However Liam Foudy tied it up again with a great look from the low slot. Later in the period, Kent Johnson provided the game’s biggest highlight by beating Sorokin with a Michigan goal. In the same minute, Eric Robinson batted in a puck to put the Blue Jackets up 4-2 on the Isles. 

Facing a two-goal deficit, the Islanders got to work in the third period. Kyle Palmieri deflected a shot into the back of the net to cut the deficit to just one goal. Then at the eight-minute mark, Nelson scored his second of the game on the power play to tie the game at four. With the game tied late, Lee took a high sticking penalty that led to some nervous moments in the final seconds of regulation. The Isles escaped regulation to win one point but the penalty doomed them in overtime. Boone Jenner scored the game-winning power-play goal to cost the Islanders a second point in a 5-4 loss. 

Sabres Shut Out the Islanders

The Islanders hosted the Sabres for the final game of the week. Following the previous night’s high-scoring affair, this game stayed scoreless through the first two periods. Some quality work from Semyon Varlamov and the PK unit helped keep the Isles in this one. Unfortunately, it would still be the Sabres that struck first. Kyle Okposo picked up a bouncing puck and scored on a wrister to take the lead. Needing just one goal to tie, the Islanders couldn’t find a way to beat Eric Comrie. He saved all 26 shots that came his way in this contest. Jeff Skinner provided the empty net goal to hand the Islanders a 2-0 shutout loss at home. 

Takeaway

A week that started with such promise ended absolutely disastrously. With two very winnable contests the Islanders only managed to get one point. Having those two losing efforts following a dominant win just about sums up this season for the Islanders. They can be great but have had some major consistency issues limit their potential. The only positive spin on this week is that the Panthers did some losing themselves to keep the Isles four points ahead.

Now the focus shifts to what will probably wind up being the season defining portion of the Islanders schedule. They have a myriad of difficult opponents in this week of play with little room for error given the three points they squandered at the end of this week. This slate of opponents includes the Lightning, Hurricanes and Capitals who the Islanders have a combined 0-5 record against this season. It won’t be easy, but they need to find a way to string together some wins during this stretch to better secure their spot in the playoffs. 

3 Stars of the Week

1. Brock Nelson (2 goals against Blue Jackets including game-tying PPG)

2. Cal Clutterbuck (Goal, two assists against Maple Leafs)

3. Zach Parise (2 goals)

Credits

Featured image courtesy of ESPN

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