The Upshot: NY Islanders bounce back to defeat Ducks 6-3.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The NY Islanders defeated the Anaheim Ducks by a final score of 6-3 in the second leg of their California road trip. The Isles were led offensively by Kyle Palmieri, who scored a career-high four points in the win, and Brock Nelson who scored twice while having six shots, bringing him up to 30 on the season. Pierre Engvall continues to get hot, scoring his third goal in the last three games, which stood as the game-winning tally along with grabbing a primary assist on Palmieri's goal. Zach Parise also had a similar stat line, scoring one goal and one assist with three shots.
WHAT WENT RIGHT
The Isles found themselves down by scores of 1-0 and 2-1 in the first period but were able to stay composed and bounce back nicely. New York peppered John Gibson in the Ducks' goal with 13 and 16 shots in the first two periods respectively. Just about halfway through the second, Hudson Fasching scored on a 2-on-1 to tie it, starting an Islanders run of five unanswered goals to take the game into their own hands. Three of those goals were scored in the third period, which only saw the Islanders register four shots on goal.
Engvall has put on a good show the past few games for the blue and orange, gaining confidence and settling into his role after Lou Lamoriello acquired him from the Toronto Maple Leafs. His performance against Anaheim gives him four points in his last three games with New York, just what the team needed while their bottom-six was depleted. His speed and forechecking ability are on display every night now, and he is proving to be such a worthwhile addition.
WHAT WENT WRONG
The Islanders clicked offensively against a weak Ducks defense, but Ilya Sorokin didn't have his greatest performance on the other side, ending the night with just 20 saves on 23 shots. The first goal he allowed came in the first 25 seconds of the game, which could be tied to Sorokin playing the night before in the Isles' 5-2 loss against the Los Angeles Kings. He allowed two goals in the first period, putting the Isles down 2-1 after the frame, but did not let up another goal until the 15:05 mark in the third. The Ducks did not have many chances in front of the Islanders' goal, but they were still able to capitalize early on most likely due to fatigue. The Bo Horvat line also could not get anything going on the scoresheet in a dominant win, with him and Anders Lee finishing as a minus-one on the night.
STATS OF THE GAME
- According to Eric Hornick in The Skinny: The Isles are 15-10-3 when they score at least one power-play goal and 20-17-5 when they do not; they went 0/1 on the man advantage last night.
- Bo Horvat led Isles forwards with 19:19 of ice-time; they are 3-2-1 when he leads the entire team in TOI. He also went 10-for-14 on faceoffs.
- Zach Parise played in his 152nd consecutive game with the Islanders; he has played in every game since joining the team in the 2021-22 season.
- The Isles blocked 10 shots while the Ducks blocked 20 on the night.
SOCIAL MEDIA MOMENT OF THE GAME
Plenty of Islanders fans came out to support the team in their Western Conference road trip with various types of gear, along with breaking out the "Yes Yes Yes" chants in a resounding victory in California.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Islanders will finish their road trip against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night. Puck drop is at 10:30 PM EST.