NY Islanders Flip the Script, Holmstrom Scores Twice in 3-2 Win Over Flames

One night after chasing the game early, the New York Islanders flipped the script.

After falling behind 3–0 in Friday’s loss to the Los Angeles Kings, the Islanders came out flying Saturday night at UBS Arena and built a quick lead of their own. Behind two goals from Simon Holmstrom and a strong performance from David Rittich, the Isles held off the Calgary Flames for a 3–2 win.

The win marked the Islanders’ third in their last four games.

The Isles wasted little time establishing control. Casey Cizikas opened the scoring early in the first period, giving the Islanders the fast start they had been searching for after several recent games spent playing from behind.

Holmstrom extended the lead to 2–0 at 16:35 of the opening period. After receiving a pass from newly acquired defenseman Luke Schenn, Holmstrom fired a shot over the blocker of Calgary goaltender Devin Cooley. The assist was Schenn’s first at UBS Arena since joining the Islanders at the trade deadline.

Holmstrom struck again moments later in dramatic fashion. With under a minute remaining in the first period, Jean-Gabriel Pageau sprung Holmstrom on a short-handed rush, and the winger finished the play to give the Islanders a commanding 3–0 lead heading into the intermission.

“It's hard coming back in this league. Teams are too good. Players are too good,” Schenn said after the game. “You even see it tonight. They pushed, and we were still able to hold on. I think, as a team, we have to manage the puck a little bit better, especially when we're tired on back-to-backs and not let them keep coming at us in waves."

Calgary made a push late in the game. Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman scored during a 6:11 stretch in the third period to cut the deficit to one. The Flames had their chances down the stretch, but Rittich stood tall in net, turning aside 30 shots to preserve the win against his former team. Calgary, which replaced Cooley with Dustin Wolf after the first period, dropped to 2–5–1 over its last eight games.

For the Islanders, the night represented a welcome reversal — jumping ahead early and finishing the job instead of chasing it.