New York Islanders Fall To McDavid In Overtime (Highlights)

The Edmonton Oilers defeated the New York Islanders 2-1 in Ryan Strome’s first game against his former team since being traded to the Oilers during the offseason.

No matter how many games the Oilers play it’s still weird seeing Ryan Strome in anything but a New York Islanders jersey. Strome got a nice hand and video tribute during the first media timeout. He had his rough days but certainly deserved a nice hang from the home crowd.

The Isles got off to a great start in the first. That’s now three games in a row Doug Weight’s squad has got off to a strong start, something he preached in training camp. The two teams were scoreless after the first but the Islanders could have had a couple goals. Cam Talbot struggled to control the puck and the Isles couldn’t take advantage.

Matthew Barzal had an outstanding period. Coming off a five-point game it was clear he had a little pep in his step. Barzal’s vision improves every game and his speed is rarely matched by an opposing defense. The offense controlled most of the period. The fore-check was strong and the first line continued to show they play their best when they are playing aggressive.

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The penalty kill was also on its game in the first. Both units have been great going back to the last week. Every successful penalty kill unit needs a strong goal and Thomas Greiss did the job early on. I’m a big fan of Weight riding the hot hand. It gives the goalie playing a chance to use last game’s momentum and gives the other goalie a good amount of rest.

Greiss played well in the first but gave up a soft goal in the early parts of the second period to get the Oilers on the board. Jason Chimera was stripped at the blue line to begin the rush for Edmonton. Chimera has been so bad defensively that it’s really time for Weight to consider sitting him down.

Jordan Eberle had to have come into this game as fired up as he has been all season. Going up against his former team with his current team playing much better than his last. Eberle tied the game on a feel-good goal beating Talbot with a wicked shot top shelf.

Barzal set up the goal and those two are really starting to click. Barzal now has a six-game point streak and Eberle is really starting to put the puck in the net. Who would have thought that it would be the 20-year-old kid and the acquired vet who have found the most chemistry?

The power play for the Islanders struggled through the first two periods. They have been so good of late but really failed to set any plays up. Sloppy turnovers and poor shots made it easy for Edmonton to keep the Islanders power play off the board. I was still feeling good tied at one after two periods of play.

Josh Bailey had a very strong start to the third and just an overall well played hockey game. He was making smart plays all night and just itching for a goal.

The Isles lost Nikolai Kulemin for the 3rd after taking a big hit from behind. Weight was forced to mix and match eleven forward which certainly was not helping by any means. The Islanders played good hockey in the 3rd but Talbot was up to the task. They outshot the Oilers and just had way more chances. The game headed to overtime and the Islanders earned yet another point against the Western Conference team.

Connor Mcdavid was stalled all game, but not in OT. He beat Greiss just 38 seconds into the extra frame. There’s only so long you can stop the games best player, but it was a game the Islanders should have won.

Next: Islanders Top 5 Rookie Performances

The Islanders now head out west for a date with the Dallas Stars on Friday night.