Playing twice in less than 24 hours (great job, schedule makers), the Islanders had far from their best but nearly pulled out a point or two before falling late to the Blue Jackets in Columbus, 4-2.
The Isles held a slim 2-1 lead till the final five minutes, when a fortunate deflection canceled several previous game savers by David Rittich, who handled both starts on this traveling back-to-back. But it was always going to by the skin of their teeth if they were going to scrape anything from this.
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They got their 2-1 lead after killing off a 4-on-3 and a five-minute major when Mat Barzal was ejected just 22 minutes into the game for a righteous yet still harmless slash at the foot of Mason Marchment, who took several runs at Matthew Schaefer in the first and second periods.
For a longtime NHL fan, it’s truly something to see Marchment go after one of the game’s brightest young stars, as his father was among the unquestionably dirtiest players of his era, regularly delivering knee-on-knee hits and elbows to the head, more than once causing long-term injury, garnering 13 suspensions. The younger fella’s career has also been marked by shady incidents across his five teams. (“The douche does not fall far from the bag,” is I believe how the saying goes.)
Just before this sequence, Marchment tried to take out Schaefer with a high “oh, I’m trying to get out of the way” hit long after he’d released the puck, then he circled around and tried it again.
Somehow, miraculously, Marchment was able to continue on.
Alas, although Bo Horvat gave the Isles the lead not long after the post-Marchment dust and penalties settled, the Islanders looked out of gas in the third and were punished for trying to hang on for the entire frame. This after their start to the game was even more lifeless, with Patrick Roy ranting during a TV timeout as they trailed 1-0 in goals and 9-1 in shots midway through the first period.
After the eventful second period and a little too much passivity int he third, Columbus finally tied it when Ivan Provorov’s hopeful volley from the point found its way in off a body at 15:27. Then just over a minute later came the go-ahead, after Kirill Marchenko backhanded through a screen on the rush and the shot tricked Rittich to go off his body and in, short-side.
It was a tough result for Rittich, who logged a lot of miles in 24 hours. It was a script flip for this fixture after the Islanders stunned the Blue Jackets late to take a regulation game on Long Island in November. But it was ultimately a pretty fair result for the quality of performance from both sides, Marchment’s nature-or-nurture? shenanigans notwithstanding.
Other Notes
- Anthony Duclair was one of the few who had life and jump throughout the game — though he should, after being scratched last night. He generated a few chances by using speed to create separation, a welcome sight.
- The first Columbus goal was completely avoidable, following the teams trading chances and structure getting lax. Tony DeAngelo was deep in the Columbus zone with no one covering, leaving Adam Pelech in no man’s land as Marchenko got behind him for his first of two goals.
- At least the penalty kill was a bright spot, killing off several chances, though Rittich of course played a huge part in that.
Up Next
This short road trip continues Tuesday in Chicago.
