Islanders Fall 3-2 in the Shootout to Montreal

The New York Islanders were in for some afternoon hockey against the Montreal Canadiens. Unfortunately, like most days, the Isles gave up the first goal again when a Jeff Petry blast was able to give the Canadiens a 1-0 lead.

I'm not sure if Michael Pezzetta hit Ilya Sorokin, but his presence down low with Ryan Pulock surely played a role in this one.

The story, besides this goal, in the first was Kieffer Bellows' play. He had a very strong first frame creating chances on his opening two shifts. I was glad to see his strong play carry over from the last time out against Boston.

In the second period, the chippy play continued on both sides. The Islanders opened the period on the power play and once again Kyle Palmieri cashed in with a goal. Don't look now but he has three in his last three games.

They looked good for a majority of this period, they outshot Montreal 12-5 but once again, gave in a late period goal. It's just unbelievable how soft this team goes in the final few minutes of a period. The defense got lazy and Ilya Sorokin didn't hug the post, again, and the Islanders found themselves down after two periods.

In the third period, the Islanders came to life. They were generating opportunities and sustaining offensive pressure and finally, Brock Nelson was able to tie up the game for the Isles.

The Islanders tied up the game and forced overtime. In that period, the Islanders went very conservative. I don't quite get why they decided to play at so safe, seemingly avoiding taking shots to play for the shootout (something they're not very good at).

Regardless, the Canadiens got the better of the Islanders in the shootout and they won 3-2. They tried to get cute and it cost them. The Islanders play next on Tuesday night in Seattle to take on the Kraken.