Islanders Weekly Recap (12/26-1/1)

Islanders Weekly Recap (12/26-1/1)

Time Stamp: January 3, 2023 11:02 AM
Source Node: 1867299

The Islanders went 2-1 in their three games this week, breaking a long streak of losing weeks. They picked up home wins against the Penguins and Blue Jackets, but dropped a road contest against the Kraken to end the week. Despite picking up four points, the Islanders are still outside of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. Their 44 points are tied with the Penguins for the second wild card spot, with the Penguins currently holding the tiebreaker via points percentage. 

Dominant Win in First Game Against Penguins

Courtesy of NY POST Photo/Robert Sabo

The Islanders opened this week with their first game against one of their biggest rivals in the Pittsburgh Penguins at UBS Arena. The Isles erupted out of the gate in this one with some early aggressiveness in this important matchup. During this strong start, Brock Nelson took a turnover in the offensive zone and set up Anders Lee for the first goal of the game. The Penguins tied the game later in the period when a Pierre-Oliver Joseph shot took a wicked bounce past Sorokin. 

With the game tied at one in the second period, the Islanders took full control of the game. It took Mat Barzal just 50 seconds to deflect a Hudson Fasching shot into the net to take back the lead. Midway through the period, Noah Dobson fooled Jarry with a fake slap shot pass to Josh Bailey that set him up with a wide open net for the 3-1 lead. Barzal struck again five minutes later, taking a shot from a tight angle to take a commanding three goal lead heading into the final frame. 

At 3:33 of the third, Lee scored his second of the game off a rebound to give the Isles a convincing 5-1 lead. On top of the tremendous offensive performance came one of their best defensive games of the season as well. They held the Penguins to 21 shots in the game and just nine throughout the second and third period. This complete game from the Islanders led them to a much needed 5-1 divisional win. 

Low Scoring Victory Against Blue Jackets

Courtesy of NHLI via Getty Images

Next on the slate was another home game, this time against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Islanders couldn’t find the same goal scoring spark from the game prior, but had a strong performance nevertheless. It took until the second period for a goal, courtesy of a backhand goal from J.G. Pageau to give the Isles the lead. The second goal of the period was a highly important one for the Isles. On the power play, Barzal beat Korpisalo with a one-timer at 16:39 to give them a 2-0 lead. That power play goal broke an ongoing 0-for-27 streak on the man advantage that lasted over three weeks of play. 

The goal also proved to be important late in the third period. With the Columbus net empty, Emil Bemstrom got one by Sorokin with 22 seconds left to put the Blue Jackets within one. Despite the scare, the Islanders shut them down in the dying seconds of the game and took the 2-1 win. This was another great defensive performance, with the Isles again holding the opposition to 21 shots with not a lot of high danger chances. 

Islanders Fall Flat Against the Kraken

Courtesy of NHL

Riding a three game winning streak, the Islanders hoped to start 2023 with a road win against the Seattle Kraken. Instead, they were completely bombarded by the Kraken right from the get go. They were outpaced and went shotless for half of the first period. Adam Larsson opened up the scoring for the Kraken, taking a feed from Ryan Donato at the hash marks to beat Sorokin at the 9:53 mark. The Islanders finally showed some signs of life in the final five minutes of the period. Their late period push was highlighted by Barzal getting right in front of the net to beat Jones for his 100th career NHL goal to tie the game. 

However, that would be the last offensive highlight the Islanders would have in this game. At 3:58 in the second, Eeli Tolvanen ripped a slap shot, power play goal to take back the lead. Then at 13:04, Oliver Bjorkstrand wristed a rebounded shot to go up by two goals. Some heroics from Sorokin kept this game from getting out of hand, but it was all in vain. The Islanders could not find another goal to get back into this one. They maintained some good zone time with their net empty, but Jones kept them off the board. Brandon Tanev eventually broke off for an empty netter to cap off a 4-1 Kraken victory over the Islanders. 

Takeaway

The first two games from this week were two of the best the Islanders have played all season. They demonstrated that dominant defensive structure that made them such a problem in the playoffs in their last two appearances. There was smart play, good goaltending and enough offense to win two games with minimal doubt. It was great to see the team break out of the slump they were in through most of December and pick up an important four points. 

While this was a mostly positive week, the Kraken game was a reminder of how inconsistent this year’s Islanders team is. After staying on top of their competition and allowing 21 shots in consecutive games, they suddenly couldn’t keep up and had allowed over 21 shots in just two periods against the Kraken. The two wins were a big step in the right direction, but you still never really never know what kind of performance is going to come from this Islanders team from game to game.

Three Stars

1. Mat Barzal (3 goals, 1 PPG/scored 100th career goal against Kraken)

2. Brock Nelson (3 assists, one on the power play)

3. Josh Bailey (Goal, two assists)

Credits

Featured image courtesy of Twitter/@NYIslanders

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