The New York Islanders went 2-1 during their three-game road trip this week. After a bad outing against the New Jersey Devils, they won games against the Carolina Hurricanes and the Florida Panthers. The Islanders have a 10-7-6 record with 26 points. 

Third Period Collapse Results in No Points Against the Devils

This week’s slate started with a trip to New Jersey for the Islanders’ second meeting against the Devils. An effective power play got the Islanders going with a big goal from Bo Horvat. The Devils got back even later in the period when Michael McLeod scored on an odd-man rush. Another Devils odd-man rush in the second period resulted in a go-ahead goal off the stick of Dawson Mercer. However, after Mercer’s goal, the Islanders dominated the period. They tied the game when Anders Lee set up Mat Barzal for a great breakaway opportunity. Then, just over a minute after that goal, Cal Clutterbuck scored to get the Islanders’ lead back. They capped off the second with J.G. Pageau’s first goal of the season scored at the 13:05 mark of the period. This flurry of goals knocked the Devils’ starter, Vitek Vanecek, out of the game and brought in Akira Schmid.

Taking a 4-2 lead in the third, the Islanders played a disastrous period of hockey. An defensive zone turnover eventually resulted in a Jack Hughes goal at the 5:08 mark. Then, a Simon Holmstrom tripping penalty set up a game-tying power play goal from Nico Hischier. With the game seemingly heading towards an overtime period, the Islanders suffered a massive breakdown. With 23 seconds left in the game, Curtis Lazar buried a rebound right in front of Ilya Sorokin to take a 5-4 lead. The latest third period meltdown cost the Islanders a divisional point as they could not formulate a response with the limited time remaining in the game. 

Barzal Plays Hero After the Islanders Blow Two Third Period Leads

The next stop on the road trip brought the Islanders to Carolina for their second meeting with the Hurricanes. This game got off to a tough start after Jalen Chatfield chipped a puck over the shoulder of Semyon Varlamov to give the Hurricanes an early lead. Horvat got the Islanders back even with two minutes left in the period with a deflection goal. Early in the second, the Hurricanes took the lead again with a goal from Marc Staal. After going through most of the second without many shot attempts, the Islanders got going late into the period. The short-handed duo of Pageau and Holmstrom struck again, with Holmstrom providing a game-tying, short-handed goal. Pierre Engvall gave the Islanders their first lead of the game at the 18:03 mark with a strong shot to beat Pyotr Kochetkov. 

With yet another third period lead, it only took 39 seconds for the Islanders to yield the tying goal to Jack Drury. Despite the bad start, Kyle Palmieri capitalized on a power play opportunity to get the Islanders’ lead back. While they managed to keep the Hurricanes at bay for most of the third, they again failed to hold the one-goal lead. With just three seconds left in regulation, Sebastian Aho knocked in the game-tying goal through Varlamov’s pads. However, despite the ugly ending to regulation, the Islanders did manage to secure the second point. Noah Dobson set up Barzal for a shot that he one-timed past Kochetkov. The Islanders got the 4-3 overtime victory in a game where they were outshot 43-16 by the Hurricanes.

Best Third Period of the Week Leads to Win Against Panthers

The final stop of the Islanders road trip took them to Florida for a meeting against the Panthers. The Islanders’ now reliable power play set them up with a first period lead. Palmieri hit Lee with a no-look pass that he tapped in for the game’s opening goal. The Islanders’ lead was short-lived, as some nifty passing from the Panthers led to a Sam Reinhart goal. Scoring halted until the second period, when Engvall cleaned up a rebound to take back the lead. Holmstrom took care of yet another rebound at the 9:12 mark of the period to take a 3-1 lead. A Matthew Tkachuk goal closed out scoring in the second and set up a one-goal game in the third.

At the 3:43 mark of the third, Julien Gauthier scored his first goal as an Islander off of a faceoff win to give the team some much-needed breathing room. But this would become a one-goal game yet again, courtesy of Carter Verhaeghe burying a rebound past Sorokin. In this contest, the Islanders managed to keep it together defensively while protecting their slim lead. Facing a six-on-five opportunity for around three minutes, they kept the Panthers from tying this game. The Islanders won by a 4-3 final score, with Sorokin making 42 saves while the team was outshot 45-27 by the Panthers.

3 Stars of the Week

1. Mat Barzal (2 goals including OT winner vs. Hurricanes, 5 assists)

2. Bo Horvat (Goal, PPG, 2 assists)

3. Simon Holmstrom (2 goals including game-tying SHG vs. Hurricanes)

Featured image courtesy of X/@NYIslanders

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• Source: https://thegamehaus.com/nhl/new-york-islanders-weekly-recap-week-7/2023/12/03/