Islanders 3, Sabres 0: For one night at least, they bring it on home

1 month ago  /  Lighthouse Hockey

It’s been too long since one of these was well earned. | Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images


The Islanders break their third-period curse and actually add a goal while preserving Sorokin’s first shutout of the season. The New York Islanders took their familiar two-goal lead into the third period and {{{record scratch}}}...they won the game! In regulation! They even added to the lead rather than reducing it!
Yes, Ilya Sorokin got a 28-save shutout — his first of the season — Simon Holmstrom scored two goals to make it four goals on the weekend, and the Isles showed determination rather than wilting as they beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-0 at Belmont.
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J-G Pageau remained out with whatever injury kept him from Friday’s game with the Capitals, and Patrick Roy decided to with 11 forwards: Pierre Engvall was a healthy scratch, with Patrick Roy saying it was a message because Engvall is playing too much on the “outside” — and he can’t stay there because that’s Oliver Wahlstrom’s office.
Scott Mayfield was okay to go after that puck to the face vs. the Capitals.
First Period
The first period was back-and-forth yet scoreless action. Lots of shot attempts on both sides with lots of traffic in front. Simon Holmstrom picked up where he left off in D.C. with another active game, forcing two turnovers down low that led to scoring chances in this period before he added goals in the second and third.
The Sabres had the 10-6 edge in shots on goal, but Ilya Sorokin was great picking up pucks through traffic. And yet the Isles could’ve come out of it with a 1-0 lead; Matt Martin stuffed a puck home but after a Sabres challenge and a long video review, Casey Cizikas was judged to have been offside on the zone entry, robbing Martin of what would’ve been his 82nd goal in his 969th NHL game.
How dare they take away this man’s joy?


Matt Martin thought he had scored a goal, however Buffalo challenged for offside and was successful in doing so. #sabrehood #isles pic.twitter.com/9Onbkb8agJ— Buffalo Hockey Moments (@SabresPlays) December 1, 2024




At the intermission desk on MSG, Cal Clutterbuck said he’d absolutely be giving Cizikas trouble for this offside:


Matt Martin's goal overturned for offsides.Cizikas definitely enters the zone before the puck, but an argument could've been made Bryson touched the puck last.Still 0-0. pic.twitter.com/pvST6b41gw— The Sabre Report (@TheSabreReport) December 1, 2024




Second Period
The flow of play in the early part of the second period was tilted more for the Sabres, but the first penalty of the game shifted things. Bowen Byram was called for hooking at 7:03 and 20 seconds later the Islanders were on the board.
That’s right, the Islanders’ rightfully maligned power play scored a goal. They worked it really well off the faceoff, using the full width of the zone and, in a change, actually getting a puck to the net quickly. Anders Lee switched from net-side to the top of the crease, using his significant backside to body out Owen Power and redirect Kyle Palmieri’s pass from the bottom of the left wing circle.


Anders Lee parked in front deflects the puck by Reimer for the first official goal of the game #sabrehood pic.twitter.com/cEUJNVccuU— 2 Goalies 1 Mic (@2Goalies1Mic) December 1, 2024




That one seemed to put a jolt into the Isles, and they were pretty good the rest of the period. That included a second goal just two minutes later, giving them their preferred two-goal lead that is great for wasting in the third.
Off a defensive zone faceoff and a bank off the glass, Anders Lee led a 2-on-1 with Simon Holmstrom. Lee’s cross slot pass was perfect, and Holmstrom’s shot was not — but it didn’t matter, as he got enough of it to loft it over the outstretched glove of James Reimer.


Anders Lee ➡️ Simon Holmstrom 2-0 #Isles pic.twitter.com/aLfj2jPNrJ— (@IslesFix) December 1, 2024




Thirty seconds later, Noah Dobson took a puck-over-the-glass penalty, but the Isles penalty kill was very convincing, even creating some shorthanded opportunities and three shots.
The Sabres had a few scary looks in the final couple minutes of the period, but the Isles escaped with the dreaded 2-0 lead.
Third Period
The Sabres took a penalty in the opening minute of the third, but the Islanders power play couldn’t dare convert two in a row.
Bo Horvat was whistled a couple minutes later, but the Isles PK was able to kill two in a row, and pretty competently.
The Isles got another power play at 8:42, which...well it helped burn the clock down to 10:42 anyway. They actually should’ve gotten a 5-on-3 when a Sabre sliced at the puck to send it over the glass, but the officials incorrectly ruled that Brock Nelson also got a piece of it. It’s funny, because it’s the exact same scenario that Noah Dobson was penalized for earlier in the game — and of course Dobson complained that it was deflected then. This time, Nelson gave a fact-based argument but they weren’t hearing any of it.
At 5-on-5, Max Tsyplakov nicely set up Nelson on a 2-on-1, a one-timer chance with a gaping net that had the crowd gasping in anticipation. But the puck bounced on Nelson and hit his skate instead of his stick, a cruel anticlimax to an otherwise nice play.
At the second intermission, Anders Lee was asked how they needed to approach another third period with a lead, and he answered succinctly, “We’re gonna get after it.” Easier said than done, but easier done against a team like the Sabres.
But indeed, down the stretch the Islanders showed a marked determination, playing the body, finishing checks and clearing the bodies that were camping out in front of Sorokin. Even with the game out of reach, they showed no quit with second and third efforts to protect Sorokin’s shutout.
WIth seven seconds left, Holmstrom intercepted a pass high in the Isles zone and put it in the empty net from the Isles’ blueline.
Quotes of the Night
“I’m going to get him some horseshoes...because he needs some luck.”
>>Butch Goring lamenting Bo Horvat’s snakebitten goal drought, which reached 11 games
“The Islanders, when they do get back in [their own zone], they’ve gotta look around and make sure no one’s open. It’s 5-on-5.”
>>Goring talking about the Isles holding the lead in their zone after an unsuccessful counterattack.
Up Next
The Islanders next play Tuesday in Montreal, which of course is also a very beatable opponent. Will this result, which closes a forgettable November, turn over a new leaf, at least against the bad teams? Most know better than to hope so, but we’ll watch to learn our fate anyway....

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