Sabres 3, Islanders 2 (OT): In a tailspin

I’m so tired of this team, how about you guys?

Not shooting, missing chances when we get them, taking entire periods off, relying on Sorokin to steal games, goalscorers who can’t shoot straight... it’s ridiculous. There isn’t even a real scapegoat anymore, this team just stinks.

I don’t think it makes sense to look at this team as a buyer anymore. Contracts need to be removed, guys who have been here for a while have to go. I’m not sure I trust Lou to be the guy to make those decisions, either. And I definitely don’t know if Lane Lambert is the guy to lead the team through it. What a mess, all around.

[NHL Gamecenter | Game Summary | Event Summary | Natural Stat Trick | HockeyViz]

First Period

Casey Mittelstadt hit the post early, setting the tone for a dominant Sabres first period. Ilya Sorokin saved good shots from Rasmus Dahlin and Alex Tuch.

Against the run of play, Brock Nelson broke his double digit games scoreless streak, making it 1-0 off a good pass from Anthony Beauvillier.

Mittelstadt had a shot go wide, and Casey Cizikas had a shot saved by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

Sebastian Aho was called for holding, and the Isles killed the penalty, maintaining their one goal lead.

The whole period was basically all Sabres, but the scoresheet stayed favored towards the Islanders for the first.

Second Period

Noah Dobson was called for a high stick, sending the Islanders to the penalty kill. They did, and had a good shift after, forcing Luukkonen into a good save on Sebastian Aho.

At the other end, Dahlin had one of his shots blocked, and Tuch got the bounce, easily putting the puck in to make it 1-1.

JG Pageau went to the box for crosschecking on a weak call, but the Islanders killed that penalty too, a Peyton Krebs shot saved by Sorokin. Sorokin also denied Tage Thompson by stretching out to cover the post.

Dahlin was called for interference, sending the Islanders to their only power play of the game, which predictably did not score. But, shortly after, Matt Martin would deposit a pass from Cizikas to make it 2-1, giving the Islanders their lead back.

At the close of the period, Sorokin made a couple of good saves on shots from Jack Quinn.

Third Period

Cal Clutterbuck left the game injured in the second period, and didn’t return to start the third.

The Sabres had a 2 on 1, and Krebs couldn’t get the puck cleanly to Zemgus Girgensons, who sent it wide.

Cizikas had a partial breakaway, but Luukkonen made the save. He also made a big save on Beauvillier, before Victor Olofsson scored to tie the game at 2-2. Mittelstadt won the puck behind the net, beating out Noah Dobson, and made a great pass to Olofsson.

Dahlin nearly made it 3-2 with a shot from his knees, but Sorokin saved it.

The best chance for the Islanders to win the game was a Nelson and Beauvillier 2 on 1, but Luukkonen made the save there, and the game would go to overtime.

OT

Mercifully, overtime was over in a flash, Dylan Cozens scoring just 12 seconds in off a long pass from Dahlin. They checked to see if there might be an offside challenge, but Cozens was onside, and so the goal would stand, sending the Islanders back to UBS Arena with just a point.

Up Next

Next, the New York Islanders take on the Metro-leading Carolina Hurricanes at UBS Arena on Saturday night. Who’s excited????????????!!!