ELMONT, N.Y. — Miko Rantanen provided the game-winning goal off an Adam Pelech turnover 7:47 into the third period as the juggernaut Colorado Avalanche kept rolling along in the 2023-24 season, defeating the New York Islanders 7-4 on Tuesday night at UBS Arena.
The win was the Avalanche’s 15th-straight regular-season road victory dating back to last season, which set a new NHL record.
Overturning an Islanders one-goal lead with two goals in 13.2 seconds within the final minute of the second period, Rantanen’s winner — he had three assists on the night, as well — came just 3:07 after Anders Lee equalized with a brilliant solo effort in the Avalanche zone. But an ability to stick with Colorado is a mere consolation prize for New York (2-2-1), which has now lost each of its last three games.
Ryan Johansen, who scored twice in the win, and an errant Brock Nelson pass that went the length of the ice into the back of the net, were added empty-netters in the final minute.
The Avalanche could have very well run the Islanders out of the rink in the first period alone, outshooting them 17-6 in the opening 20 minutes. Yet they only would emerge with a one-goal lead despite beating Ilya Sorokin twice.
Just 21 seconds after a Lee interference penalty, the Avalanche got on the board via the power play 5:19 into the game when Johansen floated a one-timer past Sorokin.
The Islanders netminder, who made 35 saves on the night, would come up with a pair of massive saves over the next five minutes, first denying a Nathan MacKinnon chance from the left goal line with a sprawling paddle save before a lunging toe save denied a Ross Colton one-timer at the left post.
Out of nothing, the Islanders found an equalizer on just their second shot on goal of the night when Cal Clutterbuck — promoted from the fourth line to the third just seconds earlier — redirected a Noah Dobson point shot past the red-hot Alexandar Georgiev (27 saves) at the 10:03 mark of the period.
But…
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