The Islanders entered Monday's Metropolitan Division game against the Columbus Blue Jackets with points in each of their last five games.
After another 65 minute game, including overtime, the Islanders picked up a point once again after losing in a shootout, 4-3 to Columbus at UBS Arena.
© Brad Penner-Imagn Images
The Islanders jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead in terms of shots, and that would be indicative of the rest of the first period, which the home team dominated.
Pierre Engvall opened the scoring, firing home his sixth of the season from the slot with 6:44 to go in the first.
Defenseman, Tony DeAngelo started the play and relayed the puck up to Adam Boqvist, who fed Engvall.
https://x.com/theelmonters/status/1904324837352337697?s=12Minutes later, Bo Horvat found Kyle Palmieri in the slot, who roofed the puck to give the Isles a 2-0 lead 18:41 into the first.
The teams went to the dressing rooms after one with the Islanders holding the edge 17-6 in shots.
Following their dominant performance in the first period, the Islanders got an early power play after Damon Severson tripped up Horvat, who went into the boards feet-first. Horvat returned to play during the man advantage after flexing his left leg.
Later, Adam Fantilli streaked into the Islanders' zone and toe-dragged around Noah Dobson, then let go of a sneaky snap shot, which beat Ilya Sorokin’s glove side to cut New York’s lead to 2-1.
At 16:58, Justin Danforth flipped the puck over the boards for a delay-of-game infraction, giving the Islanders their second power play of the period. However, only 15 seconds into the man advantage, Boone Jenner’s shot deflected off of Dobson’s leg and past Sorokin to knot the game at 2-2.
The Islanders bounced back however, as Mike Reilly’s point shot bounced off of Anders Lee and past Elvis Merzlikins to restore the lead to 3-2.
Columbus head coach Dean Evason challenged for goaltender interference, but a quick review determined there wasn’t sufficient contact, and the Blue Jackets received another delay-of-game penalty to be split across periods.
The Islanders outshot the Blue Jackets 9-5 in the middle frame.
New York’s power play remained fruitless to start the third period, and Adam Pelech was called for interference, incidentally bumping the stick out of Zach Werenski’s hands.
Columbus got a quality chance when Kent Johnson fired a blistering one-timer from the top of the circle, but Sorokin was able to slide across and make the save with his mask. The offense opened up for Columbus, but as per usual during the Islanders’ recent playoff push, Sorokin stood on his head.
With under 10 minutes left, the Islanders iced the puck three times and lost each ensuing faceoff. This came back to bite New York’s tired skaters, as Kirill Marchenko’s bullet from the point snaked through bodies and beat Sorokin to tie the game at 3-3.
Patrick Roy and assistant coach Benoit Desrosiers called a timeout in the last minute to shore up defensive miscues and secure a trip to overtime.
However, the timeout would give more than a defensive boost to the Islanders. With eight seconds remaining, Kyle Palmieri deflected an Alex Romanov shot past Merzlikins, but the goal was immediately called off due to goaltender interference.
The situation room conducted a lengthy review, but ultimately the no-goal call stood—much to the ire of the Islanders’ bench and fans.
Seeing as the Islanders were outshot 17-4 in the third, Palmieri’s goal would have been a relief. Instead, the review ensured that the Eastern Conference playoff race would become even closer.
To start overtime, the Islanders kept two Blue Jackets stuck on the ice, but Ryan Pulock was unable to finish on a scramble that saw Merzlikins down on the ice.
Sorokin made a number of saves to keep New York alive after the momentum shifted in Columbus’ favor. Horvat and Palmieri found themselves on a 2-on-1 in the dying seconds but didn’t have enough gas for a shot.
Anthony Duclair, Palmieri, and Horvat all went scoreless in the shootout, which allowed Adam Fantilli’s backhand tally to be the game-winner.
The Islanders are back in action on Wednesday as they host the Canucks at 7:30 PM at UBS Arena.
