Islanders Too Little Too Late in Detroit Fall 2-1

Before this game the New York Islanders received some tough news. Their best player, Mat Barzal, was put on COVID protocol so Barry Trotz was forced to shuffle up the lines a little bit for tonight as Anthony Beauvillier was back in the lineup as well as Matt Martin.

In the first period, it was a pretty even period both ways as shots were 14-10 in the favor of the Red Wings. There were no goals for either side but the Islanders looked like they were getting the puck out of their zone better and Anthony Beauvillier looked re-energized, although he unfortunately just missed a goal with a wide-open net.

The second was a different story. It was Ilya Sorokin standing on his head for a majority of the period while the team in front of him hung him out to dry. Eventually, Kyle Palmieri took an unnecessary slashing penalty against Filip Zadina that led to a goal from Dylan Larkin.

Obviously, this one was super soft but how could anyone possibly blame him? He faced 32(!) shots through the first two periods and 18 in the second period alone. He gave them a chance through the first two periods of play.

Also, at the end of the period, the Islanders had a three on one opportunity and got nothing out of it. To be fair, Alex Nedeljkovic made an insane save but still, extremely frustrating to say the least.

In the third period, the Islanders were getting their chances but couldn't find that tying goal. Instead, it was a two-on-one headed the other way, with Zdeno Chara caught too deep that led to a Michael Rasmussen goal to make it a 2-0 game with just over seven minutes remaining.

The Isles didn't go without a fight though, Noah Dobson at point ripped one on net that Anders Lee got a piece of and got one through to get the Islanders on the board.

Unfortunately, it was too little too late as the Isles fell 2-1 on the road in Detroit. Ilya Sorokin was fantastic, Anders Lee did Anders Lee things but other than that there wasn't much to write home about.

The Isles play next on Thursday against the Bruins at UBS Arena.