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The New York Islanders erased a two-goal deficit to beat the Calgary Flames tonight, picking up a 4-3 overtime win.
The Islanders were completely outplayed in the first period, spending most of the opening frame in their own end. Calgary then struck first midway through the period, with Jonathan Huberdeau sliding the puck to Mikael Backlund, who beat Ilya Sorokin from in-close. The Islanders didn’t even get a shot on goal until about 12 minutes into the frame. However, when they did it was worthwhile, as Mathew Barzal made a great pass to Sebastian Aho, who joined the rush to take the puck and beat Jacob Markstrom. The Flames did get their lead back later in the frame though, as Noah Hanifin’s shot was tipped in by Elias Lindholm. New York was outshot by a massive 18-4 margin but managed to escape the frame down only one.
While the Islanders didn’t spend as much time in their end in the second period, they still weren’t able to generate many quality chances themselves. Then later in the frame, Mikael Backlund picked a corner to beat Sorokin for his second goal of the game, extending Calgary’s lead to 3-1 through 40 minutes.
The Islanders were able to sustain some offensive zone time as the third period went along though and started getting some chances. Then midway through the frame, Mathew Barzal took the puck up ice and got it to Brock Nelson after an entry, and while Nelson’s shot was stopped, Anders Lee was there to bury the rebound. Then only a minute later, the Flames couldn’t get the puck out of their end and Kyle Palmieri’s shot changed directions off a defender’s stick and found its way through Markstrom, tying the game. After a really strong third period from the Islanders, the game continued to overtime.
In the extra frame, Ilya Sorokin had to make a couple pretty good saves in-close, however, Rasmus Andersson then took a penalty to give the Islanders a late power play. On the man advantage, Noah Dobson was the hero for New York, wiring a one-timer past Markstrom for the win.
It’s an important two points for the Islanders, getting back in the win column after being shut out by the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.
The Islanders certainly didn’t have a strong start to the game, with 12 shots in the first 40 minutes. It mirrored the performance against the Red Wings, where New York also had just 12 shots in the first two periods. That said, it’s great to see the Islanders battle back from a multi-goal deficit once again.
Mathew Barzal looked great as well, controlling the puck every time he was on the ice and finding lanes for some excellent passes. That said, his tendency to look for a pass rather than shooting almost seems to be getting worse, now at the point where opponents seem to be even expecting the pass rather than respecting the shot option.
As another note, Cal Clutterbuck also left the game with an injury in the first period and didn’t return. We’ll see if there’s any update soon, but hopefully it’s nothing serious.
It wasn’t a perfect game and Ilya Sorokin had to be really good in the win, but it was a strong third period effort, as New York improves to 8-5-0 this season.
The Islanders will be right back in action tomorrow, when they face the New York Rangers.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM NOVEMBER
Islanders beat Blackhawks, extend winning streak to four games
Islanders beat Blues for fifth win in a row
Islanders’ five-game winning streak ends with shutout loss to Red Wings 
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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