Jets 4, Islanders 2 (EN): Better effort, but Isles come up short again
Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images
Two goals from Anders Lee can’t make up for some sloppy play and unfortunate bounces. I joked in the last recap that Pierre Engvall would be blamed for the team’s performance last night, but we’ll never know if he would’ve been healthy scratched. Instead, the team announced that Engvall is day to day and so Oliver Wahlstrom slotted into the top line for him.
Lane Lambert got the line blender out to start, mixing everyone up yet again and seemingly just making four bad lines.
[NHL Gamecenter | Game Summary | Event Summary | Natural Stat Trick]
First Period
It was a goalie show early on, with Connor Hellebuyck and Ilya Sorokin both being called on to make saves early on.
However, Gabriel Vilardi opened the scoring, tipping a shot from Josh Morrissey past Sorokin.
Dylan DeMelo picked up a penalty for tripping Kyle Palmieri, sending the Islanders to the power play. Alex Iafallo had a short handed chance, but the Islanders were able to recover, picking up a few good chances on the PP, including Anders Lee hitting the crossbar.
Just as the PP expired, Lee tipped a Mike Reilly shot past Hellebuyck to make it 1-1.
ANDERS LEE WITH THE DEFLECTION! pic.twitter.com/xVtTtfZcMs— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) January 17, 2024
Shortly after, Lee took a hooking penalty, but the Isles killed the penalty.
Second Period
Reilly was called for tripping Vladislav Namestnikov, and Sorokin made big saves on the power play to keep the score tied.
Namestnikov took a holding penalty of his own, but the Jets killed the penalty.
Scott Mayfield went to the box for tripping, and Neal Pionk scored on the power play after Sorokin’s skate blade popped off, making it impossible for him to get back to make the save.
Less than a minute later, Reilly took a crosschecking penalty, and the Islanders killed that, but shortly after, Mason Appleton put the puck into the net off Sorokin’s pad after a failed clear, making it 3-1.
Third Period
35 seconds into the third, Lee scored his second of the game to make it 3-2, but they couldn’t find the tying goal.
We are within 1 after Lee's 2nd of the game! pic.twitter.com/xypwesG7QQ— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) January 17, 2024
When they pulled Sorokin for an extra skater, Kyle Connor scored to make it 4-2, ultimately sealing the game for the Jets.
Up Next
Next, the Islanders head to Chicago to take on the Connor Bedard-less Blackhawks in hopes of snapping this losing skid.
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