Islanders 4, Senators 3: Rescued from a tank but not in a good way

With their elimination official as of last night, the Islanders sat Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk to ease their pains. The rest of us, well, we suffered through it.

[Game Sum | Event Sum | Corsica | Natural Stat Trick | HockeyViz]

First Period

The Islanders hopped out of the gate and got on the board quick, as Anders Lee recorded his 39th goal of the season.

The Senators gained control of the situation in short order, though, and Matt Duchene and Erik Karlsson gave them the lead to end the period.

Second Period

Anthony Beauvillier tied the game only a minute into the period, putting away a nice Mathew Barzal pass.

Brock Nelson helped to bookend the period with goals when he scored with less than two minutes remaining in the period to put the Islanders back on top.

Third Period

It looked like the Isles were headed for a 3-2 victory until Bobby Ryan’s toss toward the net or corner was redirected by Brandon Davidson and through the five-hole of Jaroslav Halak. Both were noticeably frustrated.

And then, by some crazy twist of nonsense, Andrew Ladd tipped home a fluky-ass game-winner a minute later. Barzal started the play, rushing the net and skating around two defenders in a way only he can. He didn’t score but regained his own rebound and found Thomas Hickey trailing. The shot he sent was tipped behind Mike Condon by an enthusiastic Ladd.

What’s Next

They’re off ‘til the weekend when they have another back-to-back, with the Maple Leafs and Devils. Good night.