The New York Islanders went 1-1-1 in their three games played this week. They lost one game in overtime to the Avalanche and another in regulation against the Golden Knights. Their sole victory of the week came in convincing fashion over the Coyotes. The Islanders currently have an 18-11-10 record with 46 total points.

Late Penalty Leads to Overtime Loss Against the Avalanche

In their first game of 2024, the Islanders played on the road in their second meeting against the Colorado Avalanche. After spending much of the early going in their own zone, Pierre Engvall got a breakaway opportunity and put the Islanders ahead. That lead was short-lived, as former Islander Devon Toews tied the game up less than a minute later. As the period came to a close, Brock Nelson buried a power play goal to go into the second with a lead. 

Simon Holmstrom doubled the Islanders advantage one minute into the second with a well-placed shot from the circle. Just minutes after that goal, Valeri Nichushkin capitalized on a rebound to come within one goal of tying. Jonathan Drouin then beat Ilya Sorokin with a great look at the 8:24 mark to get the game back even. Despite their struggles in the second period, the Islanders went into the third period with a lead after Alex Romanov got a deflected shot past Alexandar Georgiev. 

Defending a one-goal lead, the Islanders held strong through most of the third period. However, a penalty against Mike Reilly set up the Avalanche with an important power play opportunity. This opportunity resulted in a power play goal from Nichushkin, his second goal of the game. Late into the period, the Islanders almost surrendered a point with a bad turnover that gave Nichushkin a prime chance. While he did not score on the opportunity, a penalty was taken that gave the Avalanche a power play opportunity. The Islanders got the free point but were quickly beaten by the Avalanche power play in overtime, courtesy of Nathan MacKinnon. The Islanders took a 5-4 overtime loss to start the new year. 

Strong Performance Results in Big Win Over Coyotes

The second game of the Islanders road trip brought them to Arizona for their second meeting against the Coyotes. The Islanders dominated first period play and got the game’s first goal with a Bo Horvat power play marker. Later in the period, Mat Barzal found an open Reilly, who drilled in a top-shelf goal to go up by two. The second period wasn’t as great for the Islanders, who struggled after a pair of early penalties. The second of those two penalties led to a Nick Schmaltz power play goal that shifted momentum in the Coyotes’ favor. Despite the Coyotes clearly winning the period, the Islanders still came out on top by a goal. 

What followed in the third period was a big scoring run that sealed the win. Barzal forced a turnover in the offensive zone that set up Anders Lee for a perfect scoring chance to take back the two-goal lead. Less than a minute later, the speedy Julien Gauthier found an open lane and got a shot past Connor Ingram to take a 4-1 lead. Last but not least, Horvat got a breakaway chance to score his second goal of the game and seal the win. The Islanders kept the Coyotes scoreless in five-on-five play, while Sorokin made 25 saves in the 5-1 victory.

Big Loss Against Vegas

The final game of the week brought the Islanders to Las Vegas to play the Golden Knights. This game started poorly for the Islanders, as Jack Eichel opened the scoring in the first period. The Islanders first goal came in an unusual way. Barzal took a shot from behind the net that was initially ruled no goal. However, further review showed that he did get the shot past Logan Thompson, and the game was tied. 

This tie held until late in the second period, when the game began to unravel. At 17:11, Pavel Dorofeyev was left open for a tip-in goal to give the Golden Knights the lead again. Just over a minute later, a well-placed screen helped Nicolas Roy score a goal on Sorokin. After an unsuccessful challenge for goaltender interference, the Golden Knights were given a power play that would seep into the third period. Eichel scored on that power play in the third to put the Golden Knights up by three. Matt Martin scored a high-effort goal at 2:42 to try and get the Islanders back into the game. But Roy answered back with his second goal of the game to keep them at bay. The Islanders would lose by a 5-2 final score in this one. 

3 Stars of the Week

1. Bo Horvat (2 goals, 2 assists)

2. Mat Barzal (Goal, 3 assists)

3. Noah Dobson (3 assists)

Featured image courtesy of NHL.com

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• Source: https://thegamehaus.com/nhl/new-york-islanders-weekly-recap-week-12/2024/01/08/