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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
“Frustration is a wasted emotion,” that was the zen-like quote from Islanders head coach Lane Lambert after last night’s 3-2 O.T. loss in Buffalo. Well, I imagine there’s been a lot of it wasted across Long Island throughout the week, along with a touch of anger and a bit of exasperation.
Allowing a breakaway goal 12 seconds into overtime a couple minutes after your goaltender was named an NHL All-Star is a unique way to lose a hockey game, but it also followed a recent losing formula for the Islanders.
10:02: Ilya Sorokin named an NHL All-Star
10:04: Overtime is underway
10:05: Final Score in OT: Buffalo 3, Islanders 2
Remember when slow starts were the team’s biggest problem? The Islanders scored the first goal of the game for the fifth straight game.
Remember when the Islanders were dominating third periods? Now, it’s them faltering in the game’s final 20 minutes.
The Isles have now blown leads in four of their last five games and third period leads for the third time in that stretch. They were +16 in the third period through 23 games but are -12 over the last 24 games.
Along with wasting emotion, the team is wasting a remarkable season from Ilya Sorokin, who once again put his teammates in a position to win a game where they were out-chanced and outplayed - especially in the first period when Sorokin stopped all 19 Sabres shots, including 11 high-danger ones per Natural Stat Trick.
Again, it wasn’t enough. What a waste.
Coming up, the “Soroking” is headed to All-Star Weekend while William Dufour is headed back to Bridgeport after his stay is cut very short. Plus, Brock Nelson finally breaks through, UBS Arena will eventually host NHL events and a creative way to recycle your old Isles gear.
Let’s dive in.
🏒 IN SHORT: Dylan Cozens scored 12 seconds into overtime off a stretch pass from Rasmus Dahlin to give the Buffalo Sabres a 3-2 win against the Islanders at KeyBank Center on Thursday. Trailing 2-1. Victor Olofsson tied the game at 9:32 of the third period. Dahlin had two assists, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 24 saves for the Sabres (22-19-3), who had lost two in a row. Brock Nelson and Matt Martin scored, and Ilya Sorokin made 42 saves for the Islanders (23-19-5), who have lost seven of eight (1-4-3).
KEY MOMENT(s):
🔹 In the dying seconds of regulation, Brock Nelson and Anthony Beauvillier came in on a 2-on-1. Rather than one-time the Nelson pass, Beauvillier took a beat to settle the puck, allowing Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to be in position for the save and send the game into overtime.
🔻 12 seconds into overtime, Rasmus Dahlin made an impressive pass over a pair of Islanders and to a streaking Dylan Cozens who corralled the puck, came in with speed and beat Sorokin for the game-winner to cap off Ryan Miller night.
3 REACTIONS
❶ STAYING AFLOAT: "It's frustrating obviously, but we have to keep going," Matt Martin said. "We've been grinding and staying afloat, but not getting the job done either. We need to find a way to win hockey games. Our focus has to move to Saturday night and find a way to win that one.”
❷ NUMBER OF CHANCES: "That was probably one of [Sorokin's] better games to give us a chance to win in a game where we didn't control the play," Brock Nelson said. "We had a number of chances to get the lead and keep it and maybe put it out of reach, but throughout the game, from the start he gave us a chance."
❸ STAYING FOCUSED: "I appreciate the fans who voted for me," said Ilya Sorokin. "But right now I'm focused on the game and not the all-star game."
GameScore Impact Card
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders are back at UBS Arena to battle the other Sebastian Aho and the first-place Carolina Hurricanes. Face-off is set for 7:30 PM ET.
📊 STANDINGS: With the point, the Islanders are back in a tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins for fifth in the Metro and the eighth playoff spot, but the Pens have three games in hand.
📰 NEWS: The NHL announced that goaltender Ilya Sorokin would be joining his teammate Brock Nelson at the 2023 All-Star Game in Sunrise, FL. It’s the first time since 2018 (John Tavares, Josh Bailey) that the Islas will have two representatives at the All-Star Game.
Prior to Thursday night’s OT loss, the 27-year-old ranked ranked fifth in the NHL in GAA (2.30), third in save percentage (.925), and second with three shutouts. He and fellow Russian Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers will serve as the goaltending tandem for the Metropolitan Division.
Sorokin is one of 12 additional players - one goalie and two skaters in each of the four divisions selected through the 2023 NHL All-Star Fan Vote, which ran from Jan. 5-17. A portion of the fan vote was a Twitter vote, which ran from Jan. 12-14.
A day after making his NHL debut, William Dufour was sent back to Bridgeport in what can only be viewed as an organizational misstep. GM Lou Lamoriello has long preached that it’s best to bring a prospect up too late rather than too soon, which made the decision to call up the 20-year-old Dufour to play on the top line against the juggernaut Boston Bruins that much more curious.
The offensive spark the team was undoubtedly hoping for didn’t come, but two costly turnovers did, leading to Dufour only playing 6:48 TOI and not getting a shift in the third period with the Islanders trailing the Bruins.
“He's now been there, done that…gone through day one, said Lane Lambert of the decision to send Dufour down. “So that right there is a step in the right direction and puts him ahead of the game next time.”
◾️ With a first period goal, Brock Nelson snapped a 14-game goal drought, scoring his first goal since Dec. 17 in Vegas. "I've had some looks, so it's nice to capitalize," Nelson said. "It was a great play by Beau to find the backside so it's nice to get one, but you'd like it to be in a win and feel better, but just try and continue to build your game.
◾️ Hudson Fasching was held out of Thursday’s game and is listed as day-to-day with a lower body injury. Simon Holmstrom and Ross Johnston were inserted into the lineup following the injury and Dufour being sent back to Bridgeport. It was Johnston’s first game since Jan. 6.
Cal Clutterbuck left the game in the second-period with an upper-body injury forcing the Isles to play down a forward the rest of the way.
UBS Arena may be a finished product, but the surrounding area is still a work in progress. That is likely to prevent the NHL Draft or All-Star Game from coming to Long Island in the near future, according to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
“We want to bring league events to UBS,” said Bettman at KeyBank Center on Thursday. “But everybody is agreed that we want to bring it to the finished product, which is the surrounding area. Once they finish the developments surrounding it, it’s going to be terrific, and we’ll bring our events. The plans are there, and they’re committed to doing it. So it’s just a question of getting it done.”
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, Brock Nelson's goal was his first in 15 games; he regained the team lead with 16 goals. Mathew Barzal was held without a point for the sixth straight game.
The Isles were held under 30 shots for the 13th time in the last 15 road games; they have had 35 or fewer in every road game this season
🗓 ISLES REWIND: On Jan. 20, 2019, the Islanders defeated the Anaheim Ducks 3-0 in front of a sold-out Nassau Coliseum. Robin Lehner recorded his third shutout of the season — the second of back-to-back shutouts — while Cal Clutterbuck scored two goals 5:06 apart in the first period.
The victory was the 15th in 18 games for the Islanders.
🔗 Goldman: NY Islanders should trade for Timo Meier via Eyes on Isles “The NHL Trade Deadline is about six weeks away and according the Shayna Goldman of The Athletic, the Islanders should look to trade for Timo Meier who has been made available by the San Jose Sharks.”
🔗 Islanders Need to Make a Decision on Beauvillier by Nick Rizzo, The Hockey Writers “As the New York Islanders continue to struggle, many have wondered what has happened to winger Anthony Beauvillier. Beauvillier is a speedy, hard-working forward who usually brings energy to every shift, but that hasn’t been the case for the past two seasons.”
And we leave you with this …. there’s vintage, and then there’s recycled vintage like these STAN-designed jackets made of 80’s and 90’s Islanders apparel on display at Isles Lab at UBS Arena.
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Sorokin definitely needs help