The Upshot: NY Islanders outlast Montreal in nine round shootout for first home win

HOW IT HAPPENED

Defenseman Noah Dobson had two assists and scored in the ninth round of the shootout to lift the New York Islanders to a 4-3 OT win over the Montreal Canadiens at UBS Arena on Saturday night for their first home win of the season. The game went to overtime when Habs forward Cole Caufield scored his second with 2:10 remaining after Anders Lee gave the Islanders the lead late in the third period. Bo Horvat scored on the power play for the Isles (2-1-2) in the first period, and Kyle Palmieri also scored for New York. Logan Mallioux scored his first NHL goal to tie the game in the second. Semyon Varlamov finished with 21 saves, and Cayden Primeau made 33 saves for Montreal.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

In recent seasons, winning a game in the shootout has been a rare occurrence for the Islanders. They did it only once last season (1-5) but avoided their third "loser point" of the season with a lengthy and dramatic nine-round shootout win on Saturday night. After the first three rounds went scoreless, Kyle Palmieri and Simon Holmstrom scored, but the Habs rookie shooters matched each. As both teams went further down their bench to pick shooters, Noah Dobson's goal was the difference.

“Finally,” Dobson said about his first shootout goal in his fourth career attempt. “It felt good. Obviously, not the most common spot for us d-men, but as we getting down the line, we're getting ready and just try to make the most of the opportunity. Obviously, a huge win.”

WHAT WENT WRONG

Isles forward Anthony Duclair spun down awkwardly and needed help leaving the ice in the third period. Head Coach Patrick Roy offered no update on Duclair after the game. He appeared to grab his groin as he hit the ice. The team expects to learn more and report on his status later today or on Monday. The loss of Duclair for an extended period of time would force a reshuffling of the lines.

STATS OF THE GAME

Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, the Isles are 5-2 all-time in shootouts against Montreal. It was the 8th time an Islander shootout lasted at least nine rounds; Semyon Varlamov won the last two, stopping all nine Flyer shooters on January 18, 2022. The Isles tie the Rangers for most shootout wins all-time (91). The Isles won only one shootout in each of the last two seasons.

SOCIAL MEDIA MOMENT OF THE GAME

The last time the New York Yankees and New York Mets played in a Subway World Series, Todd Zeile was the first baseman. The SNY analyst was in attendance at the Isles game last nice and was shown on the big screen wearing an Islanders sweater. The Yankees, of course, clinched the AL pennant with a dramatic 5-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians last night. The Mets will strive to stave off elimination and force a Game 7 against the Los Angeles Dodgers later tonight.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Islanders are back on home ice on Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings.

Face-off from UBS Arena is at 7:45 PM EDT.