The Upshot: NY Islanders Win Fourth Straight, Beat Blues 4-2 To Inch Closer to Playoff Spot

HOW IT HAPPENED

The NY Islanders won their fourth straight game Tuesday night at UBS Arena against the St. Louis Blues, coming back from a two-goal deficit to topple the Blues by the score of 4-2. Ilya Sorokin played another impressive game, and some clutch goals from the most familiar names were enough to give the Isles two points.

The Islanders mostly carried play in the first period, but the first intermission came before either team scored. After the scoreless first, the Blues got on the board first, with Alexey Toropchenko scoring his 11th goal of the season 1:21 into the second period. Seven minutes later, Jordan Kyrou scored his 20th goal to put the Islanders down 2-0. At this point, the Islanders looked on the verge of losing their edge. But the Isles did not quit, and four minutes after Kyrou's goal, Kyle Palmieri scored his fourth goal in the last two games and 19th goal of the season to cut the deficit to 2-1.

At this point, the crowd got into the game, and with 2:13 remaining in the second, JG Pageau grabbed a deflected puck and wristed it past Joel Hofer for his 8th goal of the season, tying the game before the second intermission. Pageau scoring such a clutch goal is a promising sign for the Isles, and there are few things this team could use more than JGP providing secondary scoring down the stretch.

With the Isles and Blues both desperate for points and tied entering the third, the last twenty minutes promised to be exciting hockey - and it did not disappoint. Less than a minute into the period, Bo Horvat skated right through the middle of the ice, past former Islander Nick Leddy, behind the net, and put a beautiful wraparound behind Hofer for his 24th goal of the season. The Islanders finally had the lead and continued to play a relentless forechecking game to ensure they did not lose the lead. Mathew Barzal hit the empty net for his 19th goal of the season with 30 seconds left, clinching the huge win for the Islanders.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

The Islanders outplayed the Blues throughout the game tonight. Ilya Sorokin outdueled Joel Hofer in net, the defense held the Blues to 21 shots on goal, and the Isles dominated in scoring chances. Kyle Palmieri has 4 goals and 6 points in his last two games and is playing with a special level of confidence right now. The Brock Nelson-Bo Horvat-Mathew Barzal line continued to impress, and JG Pageau had one of his strongest games in a long time.

WHAT WENT WRONG

The Islanders played a strong first period, but could not capitalize against a team that played last night. At other times this season, that script served the Isles poorly, and after the Blues took a 2-0 lead, things were not looking good. The Islanders need to get out to stronger starts, and when they do have those stronger starts, it is important to capitalize and take leads. Fortunately tonight, the Isles stayed afloat and came back for the crucial win.

STATS OF THE GAME

- The Islanders outshot the Blues 33-21 and won 68.3% of faceoffs. That is quite obviously the ideal template to win a hockey game.

- Ilya Sorokin is now 5-1 since the Stadium Series debacle against the Rangers. Fortunately, the Islanders have turned a corner since then, with these latest four wins in a row a real shot in the arm for their postseason chances.

- The Isles killed off the only penalty they took all night, which is a formula they will need to repeat the rest of the way: stay out of the box, and competently kill the penalties they do take. Limiting themselves to one penalty is a great sign moving forward.

- Mathew Barzal has a five-game point streak, with 65 points on the season. Barzal remains on pace to match or exceed his career high of 85 points.

SOCIAL MEDIA MOMENT OF THE GAME

Shannon Hogan posted a great message celebrating women in sports for Women's History Month. Between Shannon and AJ Mleczko, the Islanders are lucky to have two of the best women in the hockey world representing the team!

WHAT'S NEXT

The Islanders head onto the road to face the abysmal San Jose Sharks Thursday night out west. Puck drop is scheduled for 10:30 PM ET.