Islanders win 4-3 to set franchise record 16 game point streak

Open the record books, there’s an entry to make. The New York Islanders have set a franchise record for games with a point at 16 thanks to a 4-3 OT win over the Penguins.

It’s incredible to think that the 2019-20 Islanders are setting positive franchise records. With a 16 game point streak, this team has done something no other Islanders team has done before.

Just a year ago, the Islanders were the butt of every NHL joke. And now they’re out here putting up record-setting streaks.

The NHL is a copy-cat league and other teams will take notice of what the Islanders are doing right now and copy it. So how did the Islanders pick up the two points tonight?

First Period

Within a minute and a half of the puck being dropped, the Islanders went down a goal, Devon Toews went into the boards awkwardly, and they took a penalty. It was perhaps the worst possible start to a game.

But with so much left to play and with the two recent comebacks, there was no way to count out the Islanders from this one.

Three-quarters of the way through the first period the Islanders got on the scoreboard when the defenseman

Scott Mayfield

‘s shot found an open lane.

Mathew Barzal hasn’t won many faceoffs over the course of the season – he’s averaging a 40.8 percent win ratio – but it seems when he does. He makes it count.

The period was unremarkable afterward.

The shots were 8-5 for the Penguins as both teams were happy not to play out a 5-4 goal fest again.

Second Period

So apparently the Islanders have no idea how to play in the first two minutes of a period. Again, they give up a goal within the first two minutes. This time it was Bryan Rust who found twine. It was Rust’s eight-goal in eleven games. The Penguins winger is on a tear recently.

Anthony Beauvillier did not care for Rust showing off his goalscoring form. Coming into the game, Beau had his own goal streak going. Beauvillier had five goals in three games before tonight.

In the second period, Beau would make that six goals in four games.

It took a long while for the Islanders to even get a shot on net in the second period. They’d eventually put up nine shots on net but by the halfway mark of the second.

But by the end, the game was tied so did shot volume matter at all?

Third Period

Thankfully, the Penguins didn’t score in the first two minutes of the third period. The next goal in the game didn’t come until the 15:08 mark of the period when Mr.500

Brock Nelson

gets his seventh goal of the year.

I said it in my pre-game piece, I didn’t want the Islanders to go into the final minutes of the game trailing. Brock Nelson had my back.

Nelson’s goal here isn’t a very Islanders’y goal. It’s was purely about seeing a free puck and getting it on goal. But you know what, that’s a viable strategy in hockey. Thanks to Brock’s quick thinking, the Islanders found themselves with their first lead of the game.

From there, things got testy between these two teams who’d had enough of each other at this point. With three games in the span of 14 days, its easy to understand why. It all culminated with captain Anders Lee letting his fists tell Zach Aston-Reese exactly how he felt about the Penguins winger.

By the way, Aston-Reese and Anders Lee both got roughing penalties for that. Roughing?! In what world is that roughing?

Patric Hornqvist would tie the game up with a scrappy goal and so overtime would be required to decide who got the extra point.

That meant that the 2019-20 Islanders established the longest point streak in franchise history. With all of the incredible teams of the Islanders past, it’s wild to think that this year’s edition of the Islanders did something even those teams couldn’t do.

Overtime

Brock Nelson was the OT hero yet again. Who knows what was going on with

Matt Murray

on this play, but he was well out of position and Mr.

500

Overtime

made him pay for it.

That’s Brock’s second OT winner in two games and third goal in two nights.

With that, the Islanders took both points. Giving them an unbelievable 15-0-1 record over their last 16 games.

Three Stars

1. Brock Nelson: 2 Goals (game-winner)

Brock picked up his eighth goal of the season and 132 goals of his career on game number 500. With these two points, Brock Nelson is now on pace for 78 points.

2. Mathew Barzal: 3 Assists

With these three points, Mathew Barzal is now officially a point-per-game player again.

3. Anthony Beauvillier: 1 Goal, 1 Assist

Beau can’t stop scoring. Eventually, he will, but no one is concerned about it. His play on and off the puck is so good now, that a little dry spell won’t worry anyone.

PS: Beau is on pace for 33 goals and 66 points.