The Islanders did not make it easy on themselves, but they got what you’d consider a pretty necessary two points amid the 84-game slog of a regular season.
The Vancouver Canucks came in on a tailspin and the Isles had a good first period to open a 2-0 lead that made it seem like the visitors’ spin would continue. Kyle Palmieri got his first post-sugery goal on a deflection of a floating point shot from debutant Matt Kessel, then Matias Maccelli added his first as an Islander with a shot upstairs.
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But the second period was a different story, as the Isles looked disconnected, missed passes, turned it over in the neutral zone, and continued a 40-minute parade to the box. Max Sasson got the Canucks on the board with a counterattack at 7:52, then Brock Boeser converted on a late power play to tie it at 2-2.
A scrum of frustration amid escalating tension at the second period buzzer left Tony DeAngelo the only one (somehow) in the box to open the third. With Vancouver having just converted on the power play and starting the final period with another, the stage was set for the night to go horribly wrong.
But the Isles drew the next and final blood. It was Palmieri again, this time with a hard shot through traffic from the high slot, after yet another Matthew Schaefer-led rush — and his sixth assist on the season — fueled the danger. (It was also Maccelli’s fourth assist on the season, thriving with his mid-game promotion.)
Even when the team around him has ups and downs that average out to mediocrity, Schaefer is worth the price of admission or at least the span of your attention. Goodness, it’s not right what he does to bona fide NHLers on a regular basis, leaving them in the dust, their legs collapsing and crossing like a newborn giraffe.
One of the scrums came when Elias Pettersson took a shot at Bo Horvat — does the Swede hate all of his former Canuck starmates? — shortly after Schaefer deked him out of his jock, broke his ankles, whatever you want to call it, at the blueline.
Schaefer was creating chances throughout the night, and when they need a goal, there’s always a chance when he walks the blueline, or dips across the high slot, or feeds someone on the opposite side after drawing multiple defenders his way.
But this was Palmieri’s night. The 35-year-old, who assisted on a goal with a torn ACL for his final act last season, had his legs going tonight, including on the forecheck that created the keep-in on his opening goal.
Matt Kessel made his Islanders debut, in what was a bit of a surprise at least based on the morning optional skate and last practice. Scott Mayfield came out.
Kessel was in the goal early, losing his footing as he crashed the net on a rush and drawing a restrained rebuke from Luke Schenn. With the Romanov injury and with Mayfield no longer being seen as a given to get in the lineup, it will be interesting to see what Kessel makes of his chances.
Up Next
The homestand concluded, the Islanders head back to Ontario to face the Senators on Thursday and another visit to the Leafs on Saturday.
