New York Islanders Strome Comes Up Big in Win

In their last home game for the next three weeks, the Islanders took care of business in the 2nd of back to back games with the Devils.

The Islanders started the game playing the same way they did on Saturday. They were getting a lot of pucks to the net but no threatening scoring chances.

The Isles controlled most of the first couple minutes of play but had nothing to show for it.

At the 8:54 mark of the first period Casey Cizikas was called for a phantom tripping call and the Devils power play got to work.

New Jersey was able to capitalize for the 2nd day in a row. Precision passing led to Taylor Hall finding Miles Wood with a wide-open net.

This was the seventh straight game the Islanders allowed the first goal of the game and the fourth straight game allowing a power play goal.

After the goal the Devils offense came to life but Berube held tight in net to keep the deficit at one.

The extra curricular activities continued all night for these two teams. After not seeing each other all season, they certainly seemed familiar after every whistle.

With 14:33 left in the first a Dennis Seidenberg slap shot bounced off Anthony Beauvillier and came right to Ryan Strome who finished the play to tie the game at one.

It was Strome’s 10th of the year as he continues to play well under Doug Weight.

Later in the period the Islanders had another scoring chance when Josh Bailey was left with an open net but Long Island native Keith Kinkaid made an absolutely ridiculous save to keep the game tied.

Kinkaid made a few more big saves before the end of the period and the Isles and Devils were tied after one.

The Islanders offense sure found their stride in the second.

New York Islanders

Explosion of Goals In The Second

Two minutes into the period Casey Cizikas grabbed the puck from behind the net and wrapped it around to give the Isles a 2-1 lead. Kinkaid had no clue that Cizikas had the puck. It was an easy tap in for Casey’s seventh goal of the season.

Strome was flying again in the second period and was rewarded. With 9:32 left, Strome picked up a bouncing puck, beat two defenders, and beat Kinkaid glove side for his second of the game and eleventh of the season.

This was Strome’s first two-goal game since February 2015 against the Rangers.

With the Isles up 3-1 Seidenberg would take a tripping penalty and send the Devils to their second power play of the night.

Kyle Palmeri hit the cross bar for the Devils and Andrew Ladd came down on the other end and shot one past Kinkaid. The shorthanded goal was the 16th of the season for Ladd.

Ladd has certainly been hot of late; he now has 14 goals in his last 30 games. It all seemed to come together for Ladd after he sat out a couple of game and let himself get healthy.

The defense though would get a little lazy. Up 4-1 Palmeri would find himself all alone in the slot and he wouldn’t miss this time. He wristed one passed Berube to cut the Isles lead to 4-2.

The Islanders continued their strong offensive play. John Tavares and Cizikas missed a couple of chance.

As they say in hockey the three goals lead is the worst in the sport. At the 17:55 mark of the second Steve Santini threw one up from the point that was deflected into the air and over Berube’s shoulder.

The goal put Berube’s save percentage under .900 for the year. He did not look his sharpest through two periods of play.

All of a sudden the Islanders were only up 4-3 and they would take that lead into the second intermission.

More from Eyes on Isles: What to Do With Seidenberg At Deadline

Closing It Off In The Third

The Islanders wouldn’t make their fans sweat for long. Tavares took a feed from Strome and beat Kinkaid on the power play just 26 seconds into the period.

It seemed very un Islander like but was a great way to start the period and much needed to take the pressure off the team. Strome would finish the game with two goals and an assist.

Jason Chimera would follow that up with a goal of his own at the 1:00 minute mark of the third. When it looked like it could be a tight period, the Islanders were all of a sudden up 6-3.

Berube would let in a bad goal to cut the lead to 6-4 but besides that the Islanders handled their own in the third and cruised to a victory.

Next: Long Winding Road Trip and a Big Decision Ahead

The Islanders will start their nine game road trip right in the midst of the playoff picture and by the time they come back to the Barclays Center, fans should have a good idea of where this team will stand down the stretch.