New York Islanders’ Mathew Barzal (13) celebrates with teammate Bo Horvat (14) after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Arizona Coyotes Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
ELMONT, N.Y. — Mathew Barzal’s power-play goal 3:47 into the second period proved to be all the New York Islanders and Ilya Sorokin needed to improve to 2-0-0 on the 2023-24 season, defeating the Arizona Coyotes 1-0 on Tuesday night at UBS Arena.
Barzal’s winner — the first man-advantage tally of the season for a unit that’s under a microscope this season — was the only breakthrough the Islanders could find against Coyotes goalie Karel Vejmelka, who made 30 saves on the night.
“Those are the ones you sometimes need when things are tied up five-on-five where you can’t get much going,” Barzal said. “Our structure five-on-five is always going to be tight. That’s why if you get your power-play going, you’re a contender.”
New York outshot Arizona 31-14 on the night while monopolizing most of the play. The 14 shots were the fewest allowed in a game since 2012.
“The defense played really good,” Sorokin said. “They didn’t allow many shots which is sometimes hard for a goalie but you have to be ready and I tried to focus in on the moment.”
The Islanders’ control on the night led to a rather easy outing for Sorokin, who made all 14 saves to record his first shutout of the season and the 17th of his career, moving past Rick DiPietro for third all-time in Islanders franchise history. DiPietro played in 318 games while Sorokin moved past him in his 138th appearance.
“It always feels great [to get a shutout],” Sorokin said. “A win and a shutout, it’s a good feeling.”
The Islanders outshot the Coyotes 10-3 in a scoreless first period, using the successful kill of a Hudson Fasching four-minute major just 4:28 into the game to grab momentum. The second line, which recorded two…
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