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The New York Islanders picked up a big win coming out of the holiday break, defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 last night.
With Semyon Varlamov still out, Ilya Sorokin was back in net again for his fourth start in a row. Meanwhile, we saw a really interesting line formed, with Casey Cizikas shifting to the wing on a line with Zach Parise, centered by Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
New York ended up striking right away, and only about a minute into the game, Pittsburgh turned the puck over at their line and Anders Lee ripped a pass from Brock Nelson past Tristan Jarry to open the scoring. The Islanders were dealt some bad news though, as Oliver Wahlstrom ended up leaving the game, following a huge hit on Chad Ruhwedel. Given New York’s injury trouble right now, it’s a tough break.
Then only a few minutes later, it looked like the Islanders had gone ahead by two off a goal from Casey Cizikas, but it ended up being called back quickly on a coach’s challenge for offside. The Islanders kept coming though, and despite not being able to capitalize on a power play, they had multiple Grade-A chances afterwards, building all kinds of momentum, but just couldn’t convert.
Despite the strong frame though, the Penguins ended up tying the game later in the period, as Pierre-Olivier Joseph’s point shot deflected off Brock Nelson’s stick and took a wild bounce on its way to the net, beating Ilya Sorokin. Each team had another good chance in the frame, with a loose puck squeaking through Jarry, before Brock McGinn rang a shot off the post on a rush, but the period ended at 1-1. Despite the score, it was a really strong period for New York, throwing 14 shots on goal and dominating the first half of the frame, in particular.
Once again though, the Islanders capitalized early in the second period, with Josh Bailey feeding Hudson Fasching for a one-timer that was tipped in by Mathew Barzal, under a minute into the period. Fasching continues to be a really solid depth forward for the Islanders and is proving to be a good fit, even if his role may be temporary.
Then after the Islanders dominated much of the first half of the frame yet again, with New York spending a ton of time just wearing the Penguins down in their own end, Noah Dobson made an excellent pass to find Josh Bailey completely alone at the side of the net, who buried it into the open net for a 3-1 Islanders lead. The Islanders kept their foot on the gas from there, continuing to completely control the frame, and after Fasching tried to bring the puck to the net later in the period, it ended up on Barzal's stick, who scored to make it a 4-1 game, before Jarry could get across. After outshooting Pittsburgh by a massive 15-2 margin, the Islanders were in complete control through 40 minutes.
The Penguins did come out with a strong first few minutes of the third period, to keep the play in New York’s end. Only about three minutes into the frame through, New York ended up heading down the other way and after a rush was broken up, Brock Nelson was stopped right in front, but Anders Lee was there to bury a rebound (as Evgeni Malkin looked utterly lost in front of his own net). The Islanders cruised to a 5-1 win from there.
The win can be classified as one of New York’s best games of the season and marks two really, really strong outings in a row for the Islanders. Over their last two games (including their 5-1 win over the Florida Panthers before the break), the Islanders outshot their opponents by a 85-44 margin.
The Parise-Pageau-Cizikas line looked great as well. With a trio of high-intensity, defensively reliable forwards, they had an expected goals for percentage of 95 per cent and outshot their opponents 9-2 at even strength, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. Cizikas has always been more skilled than a traditional fourth-line forward, as a really strong skater who’s capable with the puck, so it’s interesting to see what he can do with better linemates, even if it’s a temporary situation.
It’s also just good to see Mathew Barzal scoring as well. After going goalless through the first 18 games of the season, he has seven goals in the past 18 games.
Ilya Sorokin once again didn’t face a huge workload, but he’s now had three really solid starts over his last four games. After a bit of a slump, he’s looking good once again.
Parker Wotherspoon has also been solid in his two games, and got slightly more ice time. Aatu Raty, on the other hand, was only out for about eight minutes.
With the win, the Islanders stay competitive in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Unlike the Atlantic Division, which has three clear top teams, the Metropolitan is much more open, with a cluster of teams all close together. As of now, New York sits ninth in the Conference in points percentage, as a result of the Washington Capitals’ huge turnaround.
The Islanders will be back in action tomorrow, when they face the Columbus Blue Jackets.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM DECEMBER
Islanders’ four-game winning streak snapped in rematch against Flyers
Islanders fire 49 shots on goal but fall short against Predators
Islanders score three in second period, earn shutout win over Blackhawks
Islanders’ comeback falls short in 7-4 loss to Blues
Islanders hold off Devils for 6-4 win
Islanders shut out by Hurricanes in second half of back-to-back
Islanders' struggles continue after dropping first two games of road trip
Simon Holmstrom scores first NHL goal, Islanders earn key win in Vegas
Islanders come up short against Avalanche, fall 1-0 in shootout
Islanders rebound to split back-to-back set, Aatu Raty scores in debut
Islanders prospects Calle Odelius and Aleksi Malinen participating in WJC 
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