The New York Islanders had a tribute for Clark Gillies, who passed away yesterday, ahead of their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight.
Gillies spent 12 seasons with the Islanders between 1974 and 1986, winning four Stanley Cups with the team. He spent time as New York's captain and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002. Gillies' number '9' was retired by the Islanders in 1996 and each player on the team will be wearing a number '9' patch on their jerseys for the remainder of the season.
For their game against the Maple Leafs, New York entered the night following a shutout win over the Arizona Coyotes, where they did an excellent job limiting chances. New York allowed just four shots in the period and after goals from Scott Mayfield and Austin Czarnik, the Islanders took a two-goal lead into the intermission. After a second period where the Islanders were outshot but did manage some good chances, they dominated the final frame. New York outshot Arizona by a 21-4 margin in the third period and two goals from Brock Nelson secured a 4-0 win for the Islanders. It was a great effort from New York, who put together one of their best games of the season.
Tonight, it wasn’t a great start for the Islanders. They took some early penalties and when they did get their own power play opportunity, they gave up a shorthanded goal to Mitch Marner. Zach Parise did tie the game in the final minute of the frame, as he managed to control a bouncing puck and backhanded a shot past Jack Campbell. However, Pierre Engvall got the Leafs their lead back with under a second to go in the period, getting a puck through Varlamov, which was one the netminder really shouldn’t have allowed.
It was a relatively disappointing second period as well, with the Islanders generating very few chances. Morgan Rielly extended the lead off a pass from William Nylander midway through the frame and New York really wasn’t able to do much to try to counter in the period.
While they did outshoot Toronto 14-4 in the final frame, the Islanders’ quality chances were still quite few and far between, as New York fell 3-1.
It was a disappointing effort from the Islanders, who were sloppy in their own end at times and really didn’t manage a lot of offense. Especially considering how New York has performed as of late, it was a bit of a deflating loss.
New York’s next game comes on Tuesday, with yet another matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers.
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OTHER ARTICLES FROM JANUARY
Islanders begin 2022 with a win, beat Oilers in overtime
Noah Dobson has taken a huge step forward with Islanders this season
Islanders beat Devils in first game after lengthy break
Adam Pelech selected for All-Star Game, Ross Johnston suspended
Islanders' momentum halted in 2-0 loss to Capitals
Islanders beat Flyers 4-1 in first game of home-and-home set
Islanders back up to .500 with another win over Flyers 
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