NY Islander stumble in Calgary; fall 4-2 to Flames in Saturday matinee

The New York Islanders couldn’t carry the momentum from Edmonton into Calgary, falling 4-2 to the Flames on Saturday afternoon in a game that slipped away during a costly stretch in the second period.

After a solid opening 30 minutes, the Islanders found themselves chasing once the game tilted late in the second period. Calgary struck twice in a two-minute span, turning a manageable deficit into a hole the Isles couldn’t climb out of. Calgary Flames got goals from Adam Klapka, Yegor Sharangovich, Justin Kirkland and Yan Kuznetsov, while Dustin Wolf stopped 28 shots to earn the win.

For the Isles, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Anders Lee provided the offense, with Lee continuing to do what captains do best by battling around the net, scoring his 300th career goal in the third period.

The loss spoiled what was a meaningful night for David Rittich, who made his 250th NHL appearance in the city where his career began. Rittich stopped 15 shots but once again came up empty against his former club, slipping to 0-4-2 lifetime versus Calgary. The result was especially frustrating given how well he had played entering the night, coming in with an .920 save percentage over his previous 14 starts.

The Islanders are now 2-2-1 on their season-long seven-game road trip with two games remaining. “It’s a long road trip and we still have a chance to finish it on a high note,” Tony DeAngelo said. “[We’re] .500 right now and obviously want to be better than that and still have time to do it.”

The Isles wrap up the Canada portion of their trip Monday night in Vancouver.