Takeaways: Islanders Point Streak Snapped in Seattle

The New York Islanders five-game point streak came to a close on Saturday, as the Isles fell 3-2 to the Seattle Kraken in matinee action at Climate Pledge Arena.

Pierre Engvall and Brock Nelson (SHG) scored for the Islanders, but Jamie Oleksiak broke a 2-2 deadlock with 3:13 to play in the third period to put Seattle ahead. Yanni Gourde and Jared McCann also scored for the Kraken, who saw their winning streak extended to four games.

Ilya Sorokin stopped 24 of 27 in the loss, while Joey Daccord stopped 22 of 24 for his fourth straight win.

TIGHT GAME BREAKS LATE AGAINST ISLES:

Both the Islanders and Kraken came into Saturday’s game on hot streaks, so it was no surprise to see the game tied late in the third period.

Nelson’s shorthanded goal put the Isles ahead 2-1 at 4:49, but a quick response from McCann on a breakaway 37 seconds later notched the game 2-2.

The stalemate was ended by Oleksiak, whose point shot deflected off of Nelson and just squeaked past Sorokin. The Islanders challenged the play for goalie interference, but the call ultimately stood, much to the chagrin of Patrick Roy, who said the officials told him there was contact from Brandon Tanev, but not enough to overturn the goal.

“He said it was not enough,” Roy said. “He went in by himself. He bumped into our goalie while the puck was coming, and apparently there's enough and not enough.”

The challenge proved consequential, as the Islanders were forced to kill off the ensuing penalty. On the PK, the Isles had a chance to tie the score, as Nelson was denied by Daccord on a shorthanded breakaway.

“It hurts,” Nelson said. “Have to find a way to block the shot, not deflect it in front of Sorokin. I thought we had good things, played a solid road game, got the lead and would like to hold it in the third there and get back in attack. But, yeah, this one hurts.”

It was a sour note for the Islanders five-game point streak to end on and while the challenge was a point of frustration, Roy said he was happy with his team’s overall performance.

“I loved my team tonight,” Roy said. “We played a strong game. Played a solid road game. I thought we had our chances. I thought we possessed the puck. I thought we defended well, except maybe for the second goal, where we had a bit of a miscommunication.”

Of the Kraken’s three goals, two came via a bad bounce. That’s how Gourde opened the scoring 8:40 into the first period, as Tanev’s sharp-angled shot hit Gourde in the chest before dropping in behind Ilya Sorokin.

The Islanders outshot the Kraken 21-20 at even strength and held a 9-5 advantage in high-danger chances at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick.

NELSON SCORES SHORTHANDED GOAL ON PERFECT DAY FOR PK:

The Islanders penalty kill went 4-for-4 on Saturday afternoon, while also netting the team’s third shorthanded goal.

After allowing four shots on Seattle’s opening power play, the Islanders penalty kill did a good job of limiting chances and ultimately created a few of their own.

On the shorthanded goal, Nelson corralled a pass off the boards from Noah Dobson and cut across the crease with Ryker Evans bearing down him. Nelson pulled the puck around a sprawled out Daccord and used a second effort to touch the puck across the line with the Kraken netminder already stretched to his limit.

The shorthanded goal was the Islanders’ third of the season, the second for Nelson and fourth of the center’s career. Down 3-2, Nelson had a second shorthanded breakaway, but Daccord got the better of the exchange in round two.

The Islanders power play went 0-for-1.

ODDS AND ENDS:

- Engvall scored in a second straight game, again driving the net to deposit a rebound, this time from Ryan Pulock. It marked the second goal of the season for Engvall and first time scoring in two straight games since Nov. 30 and Dec. 2, 2023.

- Noah Dobson had a team-high four blocked shots.

- The Islanders won 60% of draws (34-of-57). Bo Horvat went 7-for-9 (78%) at the faceoff dot, Nelson won 11-of-16 (69%) and JG Pageau won 9-of-13 (69%).

- Nelson had a team-high four shots on goal.

- The Isles are 0-1-2 in their last three games against the Kraken.

LINEUP NOTES:

JG Pageau was in the lineup after taking a maintenance day on Friday, so the Islanders did not make any changes to their forward skaters.

The only change was in goal as Ilya Sorokin was between the pipes.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders road trip continues on Tuesday night in Calgary when the Isles take on the Flames. Puck drop is at 9 p.m. eastern.