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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
It was set up to be one of the best wins of the season, only for it to be the latest of a series of bad losses during what was touted as a crucial home stand at a pivotal juncture of the season. The Isles got the start they wanted, the start they’d been talking about for weeks, only to squander it away in a demoralizing fashion.
Like Saturday, they jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals from Sebastian Aho and Matt Martin, but this time they added to it on Hudson Fasching’s first goal since Dec. 17th, and the Isles looked primed for a standout win in a “four-point” game against the team ahead of them in the Metropolitan standings.
But then Alexander Ovechkin’s questionable hit on JG Pageau (more on that later) at 6:03 of the second left the Isles’ swiss-army knife center shaky and changed the tone of the hockey game. Two goals in the second period followed, and Darcy Kuemper made some clutch saves, allowing TJ Oshie to tie the game 5:56 into the third, adding to the sense of dread at UBS Arena.
In O.T., a returning Pageau had the Isles’ best chance but was stopped by Kuemper on a breakaway in the opening minute. Then, with just 33 seconds left before a shootout, Mathew Barzal lost his man, defenseman Dmitry Orlov, who beat Ilya Sorokin for the win.
The Islanders finishers aren’t finishing, and neither is the team, which has had a chance to win all four games this home stand but has just four points to show it with the NHL’s best team, the Boston Bruins, on deck.
Coming up, Cal Clutterbuck talks about bumps and bruises, and Ilya Sorokin is compared to a former Mets ace. Plus, where Denis Potvin landed on a Top 100 list, the Caps have done this in January before, and Mike Bossy records his EIGHTH hat trick of 1980-81.
Let’s dive in.
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