Islanders News: Winning every kind of game

That’s five! The New York Islanders defeated the St. Louis Blues on the road in regulation to extend their winning streak to five games, mostly against strong opponents.

They held off the Blues’ initial push in response to their GM calling them out, and then they turned the tide in their own favor. They’re winning all different styles of games, in regulation no less, and it shows that they can handle anything opponents throw at them.

Islanders News

About last night:

• It’s also the fifth straight game they have won in regulation, which is good for tiebreaking purposes and as a measure of how good this team is: They’re not getting two points from some overtime or shootout luck. [LHH]
• The Islanders took the lead on an excellent play by Noah Dobson to read Ryan O’Reilly’s attempted head-man pass to Niko Mikkola coming out of the box. He cut it off, found Anders Lee wide open, and Lee shoved it to Brock Nelson for the goal. [The Athletic]
• It was the second of four goals in the first 10:04 of the second period, four goals that effectively sealed the game. [3 Takeaways]
• Five different Islanders scored: Kyle Palmieri, Nelson, Josh Bailey (off of Nick Leddy), and Lee scored in the second period, and J-G Pageau capped it off with an empty-netter. [Rapid Recap]
• Lee got in a fight with Mikkola and had himself a second-period Gordie Howe hat trick. [Newsday]
• The loss is St. Louis’ sixth straight. [NHL]
• I’d feel worse for them if Jordan Binnington wasn’t such a tool. He poked at Lee while he fought Mikkola and then bumped Sorokin on his way off the ice after the middle period, which made him look like more of a loser than anything else. And when you give up four goals in ten minutes on the first nine shots of the period, “loser” is probably apt. [Twitter]
• The Islanders outscored the Blues 4-0 in the second period thanks in part to a successful goalie interference challenge on what would have been Nick Leddy’s goal. Lane Lambert is 1/1 on challenges in his career now. [Newsday]
• Mathew Barzal has seven assists in his last six games, and the Islanders got their seventh win a full five weeks earlier this season than last season. [NYI Skinny]
• Two more legendary quotes from Ilya Sorokin, who was excellent again, especially in the first period.

Other bits:

• I love some good alliteration: Parise Producing Points and Powering Penalty Kill. He seems more comfortable in his role this season, and he’s got the power-kill mentality. [Islanders]
• The new top line (Bailey-Barzal-Oliver Wahlstrom) is still building its chemistry, but the foundation is there, as evidenced by four goals in five games together. [Newsday]
• This (Yester)day in Isles History: Ted Nolan invites Al Arbour out of retirement to coach one more game and get to 1,500; the Islanders come from behind and beat the Penguins with two goals from Miroslav Satan.
• Have you heard of Clyde May’s whiskey? Me neither, but they’re a partner with UBS Arena and the Islanders now. It’s apparently the state spirit of Alabama, and the deal is the first of its kind. [Islanders]

Elsewhere

Last night’s NHL scores include the Devils erasing a 3-1 third-period deficit, scoring the tying and winning goals seven seconds apart to win in regulation over the Oilers, and the Rangers losing to the 10-1-0 Bruins on home ice.

• The Islanders’ opponent last night, the Blues, are now in a full tailspin and have probably tanked their season. Their GM may be right: They just may not be good enough. [The Athletic]
• Larry Brooks said that the Rangers failed a test and don’t stack up with the best. I couldn’t agree more, Brooksie. [NY Post]