Well, despite a sluggish start to the game (or really, sluggish first two periods), the New York Islanders were able to claw their way back into the game, earning a much needed point on the road after a tough game against Vancouver yesterday.
Mat Barzal picked up his 10th of the season late in the second period, and Emil Heineman tied the game on the power play with just 29 seconds left in the game.
But really, David Rittich was the star of the show tonight, making key saves throughout the game that
kept the Islanders in it even as the Sabres dominated the game.
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First Period
Mat Barzal took a tripping penalty a minute and a half into the game, and just 20 seconds after that, Rasmus Dahlin cut through the defense to make it 1-0 Sabres.
Barzal quickly drew a penalty after, sending Beck Malenstyn to the box, but the Isles couldn’t convert on the man advantage, only picking up some one-and-done chances along the way.
Adam Pelech went to the box shortly after that for a delay of game penalty. It looked like a repeat of the last penalty kill when Josh Norris scored for the Sabres, but the ref waved off the goal due to some pretty clear goaltender interference from Zach Benson. The Isles ultimately killed that penalty.
The Sabres carried even strength play, forcing David Rittich to make good saves on Jack Quinn, Rasmus Dahlin, and Alex Tuch.
Bowen Byram got behind the defense and forced Rittich into another great save.
Tony DeAngelo had a chance for the Islanders late in the period, but Alex Lyon made the save.
Second Period
Rittich had to keep up his strong play as the Sabres continued to dominate. Eventually, Tage Thompson broke through making it 2-0 on a somewhat controversial goal. It was never clear whether it actually crossed the goal line (although it seems pretty likely it did). Either way, given that it was called a goal on the ice and there was no clear camera angle proving it didn’t cross the goal line, the goal stood (later, the MSG broadcast showed the in-net camera angle that made it clear the puck was across the goal line).
Emil Heineman had some good chances all game, including multiple on a strong shift from his line.
The Sabres hit the post on what looked like the 3-0 goal, and at the end of the period, Mat Barzal became the first Islander to score on Alex Lyon to make it 2-1.
Third Period
Pageau went to the box for tripping, and Dahlin hit the crossbar as the Islanders struggled to clear the puck for the duration of the penalty kill.
Scott Mayfield was taken down by Benson when he lost an edge, and then on the same shift, Marshall Warren took a delay of game penalty. This penalty kill was much better than the previous one, with some shorthanded chances for the Isles as they killed it.
With a bit under three minutes left, the Islanders pulled Rittich for an extra skater, and then got a power play when Anders Lee’s stick was slashed. On that power play, Barzal set up Heineman, who finally got his goal tonight after 10(!!!) shots.
Overtime
The Islanders had a ton of chances in overtime, and had about 15 seconds of power play time at the very end, which they couldn’t convert on, sending us to a shootout.
In the five round shootout, Barzal scored for the Isles, and Quinn and Norris scored for the Sabres, giving them the win, 3-2.
Up Next
Next, the Islanders head back to UBS Arena to take on one of their division rivals, the New Jersey Devils. The Devils are one point behind the Islanders with one less game played, so it’ll be an important one in front of the home crowd right before the Christmas break.
