Follow me on Twitter:
@BenShelley_20
Follow HockeyBuzz Islanders on Twitter:
@HB_Islanders
The New York Islanders suffered a 6-5 loss to the Vancouver Canucks yesterday, marking an end to their four-game winning streak.
Samuel Bolduc stayed in the lineup over Sebastian Aho as Alexander Romanov returned, while Ilya Sorokin got the start.
It also marked the first game Bo Horvat was playing against his former team, and the same can be said for Anthony Beauvillier, who got a nice tribute and standing ovation in his return.
The Islanders started a little slow, taking a penalty and even after killing it off, they didn’t get much going through the first half of the frame. However, midway through the period, Kyle Palmieri got the puck on a rush and cut around a defender to get a shot off, beating Collin Delia to open the scoring. Only 39 seconds later though, Oliver Ekman-Larsson just threw the puck on net and it managed to beat Ilya Sorokin, quickly tying the game. Then only 46 seconds after that, J.T. Miller got the puck to Brock Boeser who squeaked a shot through Sorokin, and Vancouver quickly took the lead. The scoring kept coming only two minutes later though, as Brock Nelson came down ice with the puck on an odd-man rush and ripped it through Delia, tying the game through 20 minutes.
It looked like the Islanders then took the lead early in the second period, with none other than Bo Horvat tipping a shot past Delia on a power play. However, it was challenged for goalie interference by the Canucks and called back, leaving the game at 2-2.
The Islanders got the goal back right away though, with Mathew Barzal taking a pass from Noah Dobson and wiring a shot past Delia, putting the Islanders back ahead. New York had a great chance to extend it shortly after on a 2-on-1, but Zach Parise was robbed by Delia, keeping the Islanders’ lead at a single goal. Later in the frame though, Horvat scored for real, taking a pass in the slot and beating Delia to put the Islanders up 4-2. The Canucks did respond right away, however, with Nils Aman burying a rebound in front only a minute later, cutting the lead to one before the second intermission.
Things went downhill for the Islanders from there. Elias Pettersson tied it for the Canucks on a power play only five minutes into the third period, wiring a shot through traffic. Then only a few minutes later, Pettersson struck again, just sneaking a shot through Sorokin while coming down the wing. Vancouver built on their lead on another late power play with about three minutes to go, and it was Anthony Beauvillier who tipped in a shot from Brock Boeser to put the Canucks up by two. Noah Dobson did pull the Islanders back to within one with under a minute to go, but the Islanders still fell 6-5.
Considering the position the Islanders are in, this is a pretty devastating loss.
New York needs all the points they can get to try and force their way back into the playoff race, and letting these points slip away at home against a non-playoff team, and giving up a two-goal lead in a process is a tough pill to swallow. Anthony Beauvillier scoring the winner just adds insult to injury as well (even if it’s nice to see him getting a good opportunity with the Canucks).
Ilya Sorokin also has to be better, giving up six goals in the loss. The Islanders were giving up chances they never should have been, but there were a couple weak ones amongst the goals Sorokin allowed, especially Pettersson’s go-ahead marker.
Taking penalties cost the Islanders in the third as well, courtesy of Adam Pelech. Even despite the Islanders scoring two power play goals themselves, the penalty kill wasn’t able to get the job done, giving up two goals on four Vancouver power plays.
The loss ends a four-game winning streak for the team, and it happened in a pretty deflating way. The Islanders do have two more games coming up against non-playoff teams to get back on track, starting tomorrow against the Montreal Canadiens. But it’s safe to say this loss was a frustrating one.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM FEBRUARY
Analyzing the Bo Horvat trade
Islanders sign Bo Horvat to eight-year contract extension
Islanders hold off Flyers in Bo Horvat’s debut
Islanders shut out Kraken, sweep back-to-back set
Looking at the Islanders’ path to the playoffs 
New York Islanders Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»