The Upshot: NY Islanders roll over Anaheim Ducks in 7-1 win

HOW IT HAPPENED

Defensemen Scott Mayfield and Robin Salo scored two goals each as the New York Islanders defeated the Anaheim Ducks 7-1 on Saturday night at UBS Arena for Lane Lambert's first win as an NHL head coach. Oliver Wahlstrom scored a breakaway goal, Anthony Beauvillier recorded his first of the season, and Noah Dobson found the net for the second consecutive game in the lopsided win.

Anders Lee had three assists, it's the fourth time in his career that he has had at least three assists in a game. Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves in his second consecutive start. The Islanders are now 5-0-2 in their last seven home games against the Ducks,

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Everything? The Islanders scored five goals before the end of the 2nd intermission, the first time they've done that at UBS Arena. Ahead of the season, the players and coaches had talked about the defenseman becoming more active offensively, but no one would've predicted that six of the team's first eight goals would come from the blueline. "It's a hard league to score in," Lambert said. "You need help from your defense."

It was a great bounce-back game for Salo. After struggling in the home opener, the young defenseman scored twice and went +4, becoming the first defenseman other than Denis Potvin to reach at least those totals in the same game.

The penalty kill has started the season 9-for-9 and was especially good on Saturday, limiting the Ducks to 0 shots 5-on-4 and two shots 5-on-3.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Not much! With a five-goal lead, the Islanders came out a little lackluster in the third period, which allowed Anaheim to get on the scoreboard when Troy Terry snapped a wrist shot past Ilya Sorokin, but overall it was a 'rocking chair' type game with the Isles in firm control from the onset.

Before the game, the Islanders put D Sebastian Aho on IR with an upper-body injury after Cal Clutterbuck was activated for the game. Without having Aho on IR, the Islanders would be pushed into making a roster decision that would likely require putting Ross Johnston or Nikita Soshnikov on waivers. If cleared, they could play in Bridgeport. The looming decision will be something worth watching. Aho has to stay on IR for at least seven days, so the team bought themselves some time.

STATS OF THE GAME

• Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, the Isles' defense scored five goals, including two each for Scott Mayfield and Robin Salo. It is the first time that either happened since January 12, 1993, vs. Calgary, when Vladimir Malakhov and Scott Lachance scored twice. (Denis Potvin and Jean Potvin scored at least two goals each in the same game on two occasions.)

• The seven-goals was the most since an 8-4 win over the Washington Capitals on April 1, 2021.

• After Noah Dobson's first period goal, only four defensemen in franchise history — Denis Potvin, Bryan Berard, Tomas Jonsson, and Paul Boutilier — scored more goals than Dobson before their 23rd birthdays

SOCIAL MEDIA MOMENT OF THE GAME

Hall-of-Famer and Isles legend Billy Smith joined the MSG booth during the game and naturally commented on goaltender John Gibson's scuffle near his crease. Always protective of his teammates and never shying away from a confrontation, Smitty 'joked' (we think) that he would've loved to have seen even more from Gibson during the minor altercation.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Islanders host the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night. Face-off is 7:30 PM