Well that was one of the most up and down third periods of hockey in a long time.
A 1-1, penalty-free game after two periods quickly devolved after Bo Horvat gave the Isles a 2-1 lead, then took a high-sticking
double minor that also earned him a misconduct penalty. Kyle Palmieri scored short handed to give the Isles a two-goal cushion, but with the net empty, Jason Robertson would make it 3-2. And then Mikko Rantanen hit Alex Romanov in a dangerous spot behind the net, earning himself a five minute major, a misconduct penalty, and a probable upcoming suspension, as Romanov had to be helped off the ice.
Just thirty seconds later, the game ended with an overturned Dallas goal after goaltender interference, and an Islanders win that’s hard to get too excited about.
[NHL Gamecenter | Game Summary | Event Summary | Natural Stat Trick]
The Islanders started slow in the first period, and needed David Rittich’s excellent play to help bail them out from a few key Stars chances. Towards the end of the period, the Isles started to get into the game, and they’d bring that momentum into the second period.
Halfway through the second, Cal Ritchie scored his first goal and point as a New York Islander on a nifty little one-time play he helped set up. He got the puck from Ryan Pulock, made a cross ice pass to Anthony Duclair, then headed for the slot where Duclair passed the puck back to him, and he one-timed it past Jake Oettinger to give the Isles the lead.
But the lead would be short lived, as Jason Robertson tied it up two mins later, sneaking the puck past Rittich short side.
Despite some chances late in the second, the Isles couldn’t convert, and we headed to the third period tied up at 1.
What looked like a harmless puck pushed behind the net turned into a great opportunity for Bo Horvat, who had the puck bounce right to him in the slot where he made no mistake, scoring his 13th of the season and giving the Isles a 2-1 lead.
But just a few minutes later, Horvat was called for a double minor for high sticking, and also received a 10 minute misconduct penalty to go along with it, taking him out for the rest of the game. It was a… controversial call, to say the least.
And then, Kyle Palmieri quickly scored short handed on a 2 on 1 with Casey Cizikas, extending the Islanders’ lead to 3-1.
The high sticking penalties started flying after that, with Jamie Benn sent to the box to give us some 4 on 4 time, and later Matthew Schaefer after both penalties had expired. We got 4 on 4 hockey again when Jason Robertson was called for hooking, and shortly after that penalty expired, Dallas pulled Oettinger for an extra skater, and Robertson picked up his second goal of the game to make it 3-2.
And then, Mikko Rantanen pushed Alex Romanov into the boards behind the Isles net while chasing a puck, and it was immediately clear that Romanov was seriously injured. He was able to get up with some help, and obviously did not return to the game. Rantanen received a 5 minute major penalty and a misconduct penalty, and the league will almost certainly be taking another look at the hit for supplemental discipline.
Then, Wyatt Johnston appeared to score with just 0.2 seconds left on the clock, but David Rittich was knocked to the ice and immediately angry over what he believed to be goaltender interference. An automatic review by the league was triggered, and the play was determined to be goaltender interference, which meant no goal, a faceoff at center ice, and the Islanders picked up the win against another tough opponent.
With the win against Dallas, the Islanders are 5-1 on the Road Trip of Doom, and currently sit in a wild card spot.
Up Next
Next, the Islanders will close out the road trip in Detroit, taking on the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on November 20th.
