Islanders 4 (EN), Golden Knights 0: Fun and scoring in Las Vegas

5 days ago  /  Lighthouse Hockey

Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images


Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, Bo Horvat, and Casey Cizikas all got on the scoresheet in a great effort in Las Vegas. The New York Islanders took advantage of their opportunities tonight, with quick shots from Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, and Bo Horvat all going past Adin Hill and building a big lead against the league leaders.
It was good to see Nelson back on the scoresheet, and the top guys all looked sharp tonight, including Ilya Sorokin who made some huge saves to earn himself a shutout in a great road effort from the Islanders.
[NHL Gamecenter | Game Summary | Event Summary | Natural Stat Trick]
First Period
Ryan Pulock had a couple of chances off some 100+ MPH shots, but he couldn’t connect, and then Vegas hemmed the Isles in their own zone for an extended shift.
Ilya Sorokin stopped a Jack Eichel drive to the net to keep the game even at zero.
The Isles only had one shot on goal halfway through the period, and then after another Sorokin save, the Isles went to the penalty kill, with Scott Mayfield called for hooking.
Tomas Hertl scored on the power play, giving Vegas the lead, but the Islanders challenged for offside and the goal was overturned, setting up the Isles’ eventual kill.
Then, Brock Nelson got the puck over to Anders Lee in the Vegas zone, and Lee put it past Adin Hill to make it 1-0 Islanders.
At the end of the period, the Isles put pressure on the Golden Knights and had a flurry of shots that looked dangerous but mostly went wide.
Second Period
The puck went off Nelson’s skate setting up a great scoring chance for Vegas, but Sorokin made the save.
Max Tsyplakov and JG Pageau had a two on one, but Pageau missed his shot wide, while at the other end of the rink, Jonas Rondbjerg hit the post on his attempt.
Alex Romanov intercepted a pass, got the puck up to Mat Barzal, who found Brock Nelson trailing and he put the puck past Hill to make it 2-0. That was Nelson’s first goal since the end of November.
Later, Kyle Palmieri made a pass from behind the net and found Bo Horvat in the slot, and he scored to make it 3-0.
Third Period
Barzal got the puck to Lee but he couldn’t quite get the shot away in time. He tried to deke around Hill after to make the best of it, but couldn’t put it in the net.
Nelson drew a tripping penalty and the Islanders had a lengthy 6 on 5 advantage as they were able to keep puck possession away from Vegas. Bo Horvat had some good chances on goal during that delayed penalty, but Hill made the saves.
Vegas killed the Isles’ power play, unsurprisingly given the absolutely atrocious conversion rate (and with that being the 100th power play of the season for the Isles, it’s a solid 11%(!!) on the season).
Sorokin made another big save with under five minutes left, continuing his strong game and maintaining his shutout.
With four minutes left, the Golden Knights pulled their goalie. A failed clear by Barzal led to a great scoring chance by Vegas that Sorokin made another great save on, and then Casey Cizikas chased down a clear, beat out the icing, and got the puck into the empty net to make it 4-0 and seal the game.
Up Next
Next, the Islanders head over to Salt Lake City for the first time ever to take on the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday night. It’s also my birthday on Saturday, so they should definitely give me the gift of a win :) ...

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