SAN JOSE, Calif. — Brock Nelson had not simply been an Islander for 12 seasons. He had additionally by no means missed greater than 10 video games in a season.
In order life with out Nelson started on Saturday night time, with the Islanders on the primary recreation of a West Coast journey coming off 4 days between video games, possibly it wasn’t too massive a shock that the Islanders appeared passive for lots of the primary interval.
“It was strange,” Anders Lee informed The Put up after the 4-2 victory over the Sharks at SAP Heart. “But glad we could play the game and get through it, you know what I mean? Just go on with this group and we’re excited to do that. This league offers an exciting day full of news yesterday, but we got to play a hockey game tonight.”
Take this single recreation with the grain of salt it deserves.
But when the Islanders, who are actually simply three factors out of a playoff spot, albeit with 5 groups to leap, have a run in them, a lot of it’s more likely to come on the again of Ilya Sorokin.
Sorokin, who has began all however six video games since Nov. 29, acquired the Islanders by means of a rocky begin with 20 saves within the first 20 minutes and completed with 38 stops in one in every of his finest performances of the season.
“Vintage Ilya,” Lee stated. “He’s just so solid.”
Sorokin dragged the Isles to the playoffs two seasons in the past when Mat Barzal was damage over the common season’s final six weeks.
Now, Barzal is damage once more, Nelson is a goner and the Islanders are going to wish all the things from their goalie.
“I don’t like when it happens, but I feel like when we’re giving more shots in the first period, he feels so good,” coach Patrick Roy stated. “He gets in his game, gets in his groove. The consistency he’s been giving us, it’s important. Tonight, having him having a great start helps us a lot.”
Regardless of San Jose taking part in up ice for all the first — and far of the sport — the Sharks by no means led.
Anthony Duclair’s energy play purpose towards his former crew 10:43 into the match gave the Islanders a lead they didn’t relinquish, with Jean-Gabriel Pageau stretching it to 2-0 by the primary intermission.
“Feel good,” Sorokin stated. “Had a lot of shots, so I feel good in the first period. It was good for me, for my game tonight.”
Nikolai Kovalenko acquired the Sharks inside 2-1 on a power-play tip-in 6:27 into the second, nevertheless it took only a few minutes of the third interval earlier than the Islanders broke it open.
Lee wired in a puck from the faceoff dot simply 1:13 into the ultimate interval and Adam Boqvist scored the Isles’ second power-play purpose of the night time a pair minutes later, placing one by means of site visitors to beat Alexandar Georgiev.
It was simply the third time this season the Islanders scored a number of energy play objectives in a recreation. That’s one other piece of the puzzle which turns into all of the extra necessary now that they’ve misplaced one in every of their finest scorers at five-on-five.
“We moved it. Moved the puck,” Lee stated. “Guys weren’t holding onto it too long. We got retrievals after shots, [that’s] big, too, get another chance at it. Got our retrievals and the guys up top brought the puck to the net. Those are the three big keys.”
With a gap now punched into the center of their prime six — Pageau performed in what had been Nelson’s spot on the second line Saturday, with Casey Cizikas sliding over to middle the third line — all the league goes to rely the Islanders out in a crowded playoff race.
After all, the Isles have heard all that earlier than.
That is fairly a unique scenario than they’ve confronted prior to now. However a minimum of in that sense, it’s the very same.
