The islanders did not exactly match the tutorial they had shown the night before. Nevertheless, they did not give up a goal, mainly thanks to Ilya Sorokin. He put an oil ball for his first NHL win and a well-deserved one at that.
Anthony Beauvillier returned to the islanders for the first time in more than two weeks, and he was on the third line with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Oliver Wahlstrom. Leo Komarov was named in the taxi team.
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First period: It’s Déjà Vu from scratch
If you watched tonight’s first period and thought you were watching last night’s first period, I would not blame you. The islanders played much better than in the opening frame of last night’s game. But the scoreboard looked the same, down to the goal scorers.
About five minutes into the game, Noah Dobson and Anders Lee stormed wide into a two-on-two tournament after Dobson donated and played with Josh Bailey. Dobson skates past in thinking and finds Lee almost along the goal line as he walks against the opposite wing. For the second night in a row, the islanders took a 1-0 lead, thanks to Lee.
More than halfway through the period, Pageau converted a chance to come in on his own. Ryan Pulock carries the puck up to his blue line and sees Pageau floating around Buffalo’s blue line. Pageau catches the pass in step and knocks again for Hutton on the top shelf. For the second consecutive night, the islanders ended the first period 2-0 – strengthening their lead by Pageau.
Adhering to the déjà vu theme, I’m pretty sure Adam Pelech took a penalty kick for the first period both nights.
Second period: somehow only three shots on goal
The islanders did not get more fuel during the second period, but they were still able to keep more shots on target than the Sabers. Buffalo controlled most of the period game, but none of their efforts made it on the net in the final 13:00-plus minutes.
Their final shot came from Henri Jokiharju. As he enters the zone, he charges up and shoots. Sorokin skidded on top of his crease and flashed the ladder as he fell into a rift.
Third period: not completely shut down, but to shut it down
Sorokin, who played with a lead for the first time in his NHL career, continued to look like the superstar we expected. He saved early on a chance at a tic-tac-toe pass. He also absolutely robbed Sam Reinhart of his chance at the back door.
Pelech took another small penalty in the third period and it seems that Victor Olofsson ruined the exclusion after a nice match. But the lineouts took out the tablets to look outside after Barry Trotz challenged the play, and Jack Eichel was a mile away. Closed intact.
The Sabers pulled over Hutton by two minutes and created some chances, but Lee ended the game with an empty goal kick with 0.3 left on the clock.
Notes and thoughts
- How amazing is Sorokin’s first NHL victory also his first NHL exclusion? And even if the Sabers did not take too many shots, many of them were dangerous. They have a powerful offense that the islanders closed almost completely over two nights and definitely gave Sorokin confidence.
- Lee scored a goal in his second consecutive game. But perhaps even more impressive, Pageau has scored his fifth goal in his last four games. And in each of the four games, he scored a goal in the first period, which is in line with the Islanders’ record.
- Mathew Barzal loosened his scoring streak on nine games, but he played a role in the first goal, with the kick and Dobson jumping.
- The Islanders’ score is up to eight games (5-0-3).
Following
The islanders stop once more on this road trip, but they do not have to fly far to get there. They are going to Pittsburgh for two games with the Penguins: Thursday and Saturday, both at 7pm and both on local television (although Thursday’s game will also be broadcast on NHL Network).