It was a really impressive effort from the New York Islanders tonight after going down 2-0 in the first period. Semyon Varlamov wasn’t at his sharpest tonight; both shots that Artemi Panarin got past him weren’t great. But the Isles responded well, especially in the second period, which they controlled offensively in a way we haven’t seen yet this season. It just took a long time to get anything past Darcy Kuemper. Victor Eklund broke Kuemper’s shutout with a power play goal, and then Matthew Schaefer picked up his first of the season to tie the game. That goal also tied him with Bobby Orr for second-most goals by a teenage defenseman, so no big deal there or anything.
Eklund had a really strong game overall, and he’s looking more and more like he fits in the NHL with each game he plays. It’s also extremely funny to see him looking like a little kid out there and taking down big guys like Konstas Helenius. I hope he really starts stringing these good performances together, it’d be awesome to have another young talent take big steps forward.
Unfortunately, the Isles came up short in overtime. They definitely miss Mat Barzal in 3 on 3 situations. There’s no one on the team that can replace his skillset in general, but it’s especially noticeable in OT. They still picked up a point, and they’ve got points in their last five games, and have still looked solid despite all the injuries up front.
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First Period
The Isles went to an early power play after Scott Laughton was called for holding, but they couldn’t convert. Just a minute later, Artemi Panarin opened the scoring from a tough angle on a shot Semyon Varlamov probably wants back. Emil Heineman’s backhand shot was stopped by Darcy Kuemper right after.
Victor Eklund won the puck along the boards from Konstas Helenius and set up a great chance, with Matt Kessel’s shot getting behind Kuemper. Mikey Anderson had to dive behind him to stop that shot from crossing the line.
Unfortunately, right after that great shift, Panarin picked up his second of the night on another shot Varlamov probably should’ve had, putting the Isles in a 2-0 hole towards the end of the first.
Bo Horvat went to the box for hooking, but then Drew Doughty took a shot at Matthew Schaefer, which led to Logan Stanley fighting Konstas Helenius. Approximately 45 seconds later, Mats Zuccarello was called for slashing, canceling out the Kings’ power play.
Just 40 seconds after that, Tony DeAngelo took a tripping penalty.
Near the end of the period, Varlamov saved shots from Panarin and Doughty to keep just the two goal deficit heading into the second.
Second Period
The Islanders dominated the whole period, outshooting the Kings 17-9, but couldn’t get anything past Kuemper for most of the period.
Heineman and Eklund got a 2 on 1, but the pass option was taken away by Brian Dumoulin and Heineman ran out of time to do anything interesting with the puck. Brayden Schenn tipped a shot off the post, and Simon Holmstrom had a chance in the slot but Kuemper got the save.
Schaefer took down Adrian Kempe on a breakaway and Kempe was rewarded a penalty shot, which Varlamov crucially saved.
Heineman was tripped by Dumoulin a couple minutes after that, and on that power play, Victor Eklund took a shot that trickled past Kuemper to make it 2-1.
Jared Wright got tangled up with Schaefer, and they both went to the box late, for holding and hooking respectively.
Third Period
The Isles didn’t quite keep up the pace from the second period into the third. Varlamov needed to be sharp, making a few critical saves when needed.
Then, 7 minutes into the period, Schenn passed the puck off to Stanley, who found Schaefer with space, and Schaefer scored his first goal of the season to tie the game.
Despite putting up 42(!!) shots on Kuemper in regulation, the Isles couldn’t find the go ahead goal, and so we went off to overtime for the first time this season at UBS Arena.
OT
Bo Horvat’s shot was saved by Kuemper, but once the Kings got possession, they never really gave it up. Adrian Kempe had a great chance saved by Varlamov, but Brandt Clarke put the winner home for LA in a game the Islanders really should have picked up two points from.
Up Next
Next, the Islanders head out to Dallas to take on the Stars on Sunday, October 25, kicking off a three game road trip around the Central Division.