Blues 7 (2EN), Islanders 4: Oops, they did it again
“How are you guys doing?” | Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Sometimes, I swear. An odd game, in which the New York Islanders were close but playing with fire, blew up in their hands, beyond the reach of a late three-goal comeback.
Once again and frustratingly so, this Islanders team faced a weak or struggling opponent and let them off the hook. The St. Louis Blues, who walked away as 7-4 victors, entered amid another losing spell and bleeding goals. They were playing on back-to-back nights, and announced shortly before the game they’d lost key contributors Pavel Buchnevich and Torey Krug.
Though the Islanders had a strong first two periods and arguably should’ve had the lead, they entered the second intermission trailing 3-1, with an uncharacteristic poor night from Ilya Sorokin extending that deficit to 5-1 by the fourth minute of the third period.
The Isles ultimately pulled to within one, thanks to some nice work and nicer bounces, but two empty-net goals put the game away. Thomas Greiss stopped 36 for the visitors; Sorokin gave up five on 28 shots.
These nights and strange turns happen, understandably so in a long season. But it’s getting annoying to see the Isles lose again to very beatable teams. But yeah, they’re still 16-11 and being annoyed is a luxury, I suppose, particularly given preseason expectations and fears.
[NHL Gamecenter | Game Summary | Event Summary | Natural Stat Trick | HockeyViz]
First Period
It was a fairly even first period but arguably tilted the Isles’ way (shots: 13-6 for NYI), but the Blues struck first, and late in the period, on a clean shot by Josh Leivo on a two-on-one. But it took less than a minute for the Isles to equalize, at 17:52, as Noah Dobson kept the puck in the zone, then read the play well to pinch in to the low slot. He beat his man to a great pass by Mathew Barzal to send the teams to the locker room tied 1-1.
Dobson's 8th of the year! pic.twitter.com/UyUh1eIL1J— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) December 7, 2022
Second Period
The middle period was where it started to feel like portents of doom lurked, despite the Isles having some good extended periods of pressure. Just 3:50 in, Scott Mayfield missed a keep-in at the point to allow a two-on-one, where rookie William Bitten found Ivan Barbashev for a one-timer past Sorokin to give the Blues the lead.
Things stayed 2-1 until late when Ryan O’Reilly made a nice play from behind the net, was allowed to dive for his own rebound and sweep it past Sorokin.
yer a wizard, O’Ry! #stlblues pic.twitter.com/RqEwdEZT2A— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) December 7, 2022
Instead of hitting the second intermission tied, or down just a goal, it was now a 3-1 deficit. But the Islanders have been a big third-period team, and the Blues were coming off blowing a third-period lead across town the night before. There was still hope.
Third Period
And that’s where the Isles needed a save or two from Sorokin. The fourth goal, by Noel Acciari at 3:37, was a deflection and hard to blame Sorokin specifically.
BIG save followed by a BIG goal!! #stlblues | @pncbank pic.twitter.com/PAdBa66UpS— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) December 7, 2022
But it was compounded 13 seconds later by a should-be-harmless knuckler from Colton Parayko that made it 5-1.
At that point, the night should’ve been over, but the Blues, as noted, are a fragile team who bleed goals in bunches.
Zach Parise got one back quickly, a perfect far-post shot while streaking down the left wing. Greiss got a piece of it with his glove but it still clanged in off the far post for Parise’s 9th(!) of the season.
That was at 5:36 and it was another nine minutes before the Isles made things uncomfortable for the visitors. Hudson Fasching (who had another nicely effective game) got his first goal as an Islander, a deflection in front from a Matt Martin point shot.
Fasching's first with the #Isles! pic.twitter.com/pGW2zUuDBi— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) December 7, 2022
Just 21 seconds later, the Isles really turned the screws when J-G Pageau’s wraparound try took a lucky bounce off Rob Thomas’ (“I will, I will”) skate and past Greiss. With just five minutes to go and a four-goal lead reduced to one, it was the perfect setup to complete another Blues implosion.
ONE. GOAL. GAME. pic.twitter.com/GKOFiZvi7g— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) December 7, 2022
Instead, they called timeout, managed the empty net well, and potted two insurance goals with ease.
Comeback over, and a homestand that had every reason to conclude 3-0 instead ends with a thud.
Up Next
The easy stretch is over: The Isles visit the streaking and terrifying Devils on Friday....
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