DETROIT – It was a good, hard-fought win.
It was a solid sweep of a two-game road trip.
It could signify the Islanders will indeed mount a strong playoff push.
“It was such a big game for us,” Mathew Barzal said. “We knew it, too.”
Barzal banked in the winner from behind the goal line at 13:58 of the third period and Pierre Engvall clinched it with the Islanders’ first empty-net goal of the season in a 5-3 victory to snap the Red Wings’ six-game winning streak on Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena. The Islanders twice lost leads, including a two-goal edge in the first period, but notched consecutive wins for just the second time since Dec. 13.
“It’s a good road trip,” coach Patrick Roy said. “Dallas is not an easy place to play in [for Monday’s 3-2 overtime win]. Here, the same thing. They’re a fast team, they move the puck well. I think we can build on that.”
The Islanders (25-20-14), who got two goals from Brock Nelson and 23 saves from a brilliant Ilya Sorokin, moved within five points of the third-place Flyers, who have played one more game, for the Metropolitan Division’s last guaranteed playoff spot. The Islanders are six points behind the Lightning, who have played three extra games, for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot.
The Islanders have won four of their last five road games but go into Saturday night’s game against the Bruins at UBS Arena having lost four straight home games.
“Let’s give some nice hockey to our fans,” Roy said. “Let’s give our fans some wins. I think they deserve it. They’ve been very patient with us.”
The Islanders went 1-for-3 on the power play and killed off the Red Wings’ two man advantages, both in the first period. Still, Patrick Kane, skating like he did in his Chicago prime, tied it at 2-2 just 10 seconds into the third period as he kept the puck on a two-on-one rush.
“It’s a good idea of what a playoff game looks like,” Red Wings right wing David Perron said.
But…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply