The New York Islanders went 2-0-1 in their three games played this week. Their wins came at home against the Edmonton Oilers and on the road against the Carolina Hurricanes. They earned a point in their one loss, an overtime game against the Washington Capitals. The Islanders have a 16-8-9 record with 41 total points.
Dominant Second Period Leads to Win Over Oilers
This week opened up with the Islanders’ second game against the Edmonton Oilers. The visitors got off to a very fast start, with Leon Draisaitl getting plenty of space to beat Ilya Sorokin just over a minute into the game. There would be no more scoring until the second period, when the Islanders offense was at its most productive. On their first power play of the game, Anders Lee got a power play goal on a rebounded shot. The Islanders had yet another power play later in the period in which Bo Horvat beat Stuart Skinner with a shot from the slot. Special teams struck again minutes later, this time from the short-handed unit. The effective duo of J.G. Pageau and Simon Holmstrom got a two-on-one opportunity, with Holmstrom capitalizing. His league-leading fifth short-handed goal gave the Islanders a 3-1 lead.
On the defensive side of the puck, this was a solid outing from the team. The PK unit killed four penalties, which included a prolonged five-on-three opportunity. Also of note were the team’s 22 blocked shots in the game. And despite facing 15 third period shots, Sorokin held steady in what was one of his better starts of the season. He made a total of 30 saves in an eventual 3-1 victory over the Oilers.
Islanders Force Overtime But Suffer a Loss to the Capitals
In the second game of a back-to-back, the Islanders traveled to Washington to play the Capitals. Midway through the first period, a defensive zone turnover gave Hendrix Lapierre the opportunity to net the game’s first goal. However, early into the second period, Hudson Fasching got his second goal of the year on a wraparound to tie the game. The game stayed tied until the 13:12 mark of the period, when Joel Edmundson ripped a powerful shot past Semyon Varlamov to get the Capitals back on top.
The Islanders offense struggled to beat Darcy Kuemper in this one, with even their red hot power play going 0/3 in the game. But despite their offensive troubles, they did manage to score an important third period goal. Lee got an open lane to the net, deked out Keumper and beat him with a backhand to tie the game at two. Neither team could come up with another regulation goal, which brought it to overtime. The turning point of the overtime period was a tripping penalty taken by Noah Dobson. The Capitals power play unit took full advantage of the ensuing opportunity, with Dylan Strome scoring the game-winning goal and handing the Islanders a 3-2 overtime loss.
High Scoring Victory Over the Hurricanes
The Islanders ended their week by playing a road game against the Hurricanes. Sebastian Aho got the Islanders going in the first period by scoring his first goal of the season. A quick response from Teuvo Teravainen on a rebounded shot tied the game up a minute later. Brock Nelson got the team back on top with his 16th goal of the season, scored at the 14:43 mark. In the final minutes of the period, Horvat scored on a perfect pass from Mat Barzal to go up by two.
Going into the second period, this game turned into a back-and-forth scoring affair. First, the Hurricanes’ Sebastian Aho buried a power play goal past Sorokin. Then, later in the period, Mike Reilly took a one-timer from the point to beat Pyotr Kochetkov. Around two minutes into the third, Jaccob Slavin scored on a slap shot to bring the Hurricanes back to within one. But again, the Islanders created distance, with Lee scoring on a great look. At the 9:17 mark, Stefan Noesen worked in a power play goal to again bring the Hurricanes to within one. Playing in a close game, the Islanders held it together without letting up a game-tying goal. They earned a 5-4 win against the Hurricanes to continue their productive stretch of hockey.
Three Stars of the Week
1. Anders Lee (3 goals, 2 assists)
2. Bo Horvat (2 goals, one assist)
3. Mat Barzal (3 assists)
Featured image courtesy of X/@NYIslanders
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- Source: https://thegamehaus.com/nhl/new-york-islanders-weekly-recap-week-10/2023/12/25/
