The New York Islanders missed a big opportunity to keep their playoff hopes alive, losing 4-3 to the Buffalo Sabers at KeyBank Center on Tuesday night.
Despite being outshot by the Sabers most of the night, they were tied 2–2 when Anders Lee's pass from the goal line to the right of Buffalo goaltender Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen went off the skate of Sabers defenseman Owen Power and into the net with 6:21 remaining. But poor defensive coverage cost the Pittsburgh Penguins an 8-3 loss on Monday, causing them to suffer again when Alex Tuch drove down the left sideline, circled the net and found a wide-open Peyton Krebs.
Seeing some fouls, Krebs hit a shot over Ilya Sorokin with 3:01 remaining to put Buffalo ahead 3–2.
"I think Bo (Horvat) or (Matthew) Schaefer could have stayed in front of the net and defended there," coach Patrick Roy said.
Bowen Byram's empty-netter with 1:42 remaining proved to be the game-winner when Brayden Schenn scored with two seconds remaining.
Despite the loss, the Islanders finished third in the Metropolitan Division as only one of the teams they were in contention for a playoff spot won their game. The Penguins moved three points ahead of the Islanders after defeating the Detroit Red Wings 5–1. But the Columbus Blue Jackets, who could have overtaken them with a win, lost 5–2 to the Carolina Hurricanes at home.
The Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators, who are struggling to overtake the Islanders in the playoff race, also lost.
The Islanders have a welcome two days off before the back-to-back matches. They'll host the Flyers on Friday before traveling to Carolina for their final road game on Saturday.
Each team got a power play in the first three minutes, with Carson Soucy going for high-sticking 41 seconds into the game and Buffalo's Josh Norris called for pass interference at 1:31.
Isles had four of the first six shots of the game before the Sabers began to take control, pushing the pace and forcing Sorokin to make some good saves. But Buffalo finally got on the board when Jack Quinn scored a power-play goal at 14:19.
With Adam Pelech ruled out of a high-sticking penalty, New York cleared at the right point; Casey Cizikas and Jean-Gabriel Pageau appeared to get in each other's way and lose the puck battle to Norris. He slid the puck to the open left point, where Quinn was entering the play on a line change. Nobody stepped up to Quinn, who raced into the left circle before hitting a shot to give Sorokin a 1–0 lead.
Sorokin cut the deficit to one just before the 15-minute mark when he denied Brent Malensteen on a wide-open backhander from the slot after another failed clear. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Sabers held the Islanders without a goal for more than 11 minutes and had only four high-danger chances in the first 20 minutes. Buffalo finished the period with a 12-6 differential in shots and a 23-11 edge in attempts.
The Sabers controlled the game for the first few minutes of the second period, before Anders Lee was given a penalty shot at 6:34 after Power slashed him on a breakaway. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made a great save on Lee's backhander, but the play appeared to wake up the Isles, who began spending more time in the Sabres' zone.
They got a break when under pressure defenseman Mattias Samuelsson backhanded the puck into the crowd for a delay of game penalty at 17:41. Ritchie tied the game 16 seconds later, taking a feed from Brayden Schenn off a perfect passing play initiated by Bo Horvat and scoring into the empty net to make the score 1–1. It remained that way until the end of the period, with the Isles outshooting Buffalo 9–7, although the Sabers had a 6–5 edge in high-danger chances.
Lee was not penalized for the late-period hit that sent Norris' face into the glass, but he had to answer the bell when ex-Ranger Sam Carrick challenged him after a face-off early in the third period. Lee threw the former Rangers center on the ice and he went to the locker room with a shoulder injury. But this game seemed to put the pressure on the Sabers – especially when Soucy was sent off for holding at 1:28. Tage Thompson's power-play goal at 2:40 put Buffalo ahead 3–2.
Lee's fluke goal gave the Islanders the tie and gave them hope that they could go home with at least a point after overtime. Krebs' goal dashed those hopes.
Key takeaways from the Islanders' 4-3 loss to the Sabers
lucky losers/missed opportunities
All things considered, the Isles came away with a discouraging loss that they expected. They finished the night just as they started it – third in the Metro, one point ahead of Columbus (which has the second wild card in the East and has played one less game), and two points in front of Ottawa, Detroit and Philadelphia – though all three have two games in hand in New York.
None of the contenders play on Wednesday, but they are all back in action on Thursday.
The Islanders looked disorganized in the second half of their loss to the Penguins and were outplayed by the Sabers for long periods. The two-day break comes at a good time, but the Monday-Tuesday loss exposed the Isles' defensive issues and their erratic special teams, and they have a lot of cleaning up to do before the Flyers come to UBS on Friday for the second half of a back-to-back.
Sorokin hit back
Roy surprised many observers by starting Sorokin one night after the Penguins allowed seven goals before being removed. He was at no fault for any of the three goals scored before the empty-netter – and that was the biggest reason the Islanders won.
“He was excellent,” Roy said. “He made some very good saves and unfortunately for us he gave up two goals on the power-play.”
The Sabers had a 12-3 advantage in high-danger chances, according to Natural Stat Trick (it was 15-9 in all situations). Sorokin was brilliant in the first round, when the Isles suffered a defeat and fell behind by only one goal.
He will certainly be happy with the two-day break, which could give him a chance to play against both the Flyers and Hurricanes.
PK was not good
The Islanders picked a bad night to give up their first power-play goal in six games – although they had only faced six opposition power plays over the course of their last five games.
Quinn's goal came when he fell behind, failed to clear the area and allowed Quinn to run unimpeded down the left. Thompson, one of the NHL's deadliest shooters, found a soft spot in the middle of the coverage and beat Sorokin – who had not seen the shot.
With one of the NHL's worst power plays, the Islanders can't afford another bad night by the penalty killer.
