Noah Dobson returns healthy as the Isles sort out a crowded blueline.
The Islanders tiptoed into Boston and walked away with two points from a regulation win, ending a four-game regulation losing streak as their backbone Ilya Sorokin returned to his January-early February form.
Sorokin stopped 38 of 39 shots, the only goal allowed deflecting in off his own defenseman’s stick, frustrating the Bruins from the first period to the final whistle. Kyle Palmieri’s second-period goal stood up as the winner.
With the win…nothing changes, really. They’re still closer to the bottom of the conference (six points ahead of Buffalo) than they are to the wild card (seven points back of Detroit and Columbus).
[NHL Gamecenter | Game Summary | Event Summary | Natural Stat Trick]
It’s no coincidence that when Sorokin is lights out, the Islanders are in the win column even when their opponent controls play, and when he’s mortal or average, they’re having difficulty. But Patrick Roy did say they worked on not blocking Sorokin’s view, as traffic and deflections were a big factor on several of the goals allowed the other night against the Rangers.
And up 2-0, they had several chances to expand their lead, including a great opportunity for Hudson Fasching on a setup from J-G Pageau. The failure to cash in made it feel like the Bruins might finally get the equalizer again, but not tonight.
In addition to Fasching, they also welcomed back Noah Dobson from injury. He logged 18:54. That’s forcing some decisions on the blueline; Adam Boqvist remained in as Scott Mayfield was scratched for the second straight. Fellow Scott Perunovich was also scratched after he and Ryan Pulock’s minus-4 the other night. Tony DeAngelo (the author of the own goal while intercepting a low-crease pass) appears to be the lone lock among the three newcomers.
#Isles Noah Dobson on his return to lineup: “I felt pretty good from the start. Obviously, it was just game reps and feeling the pressure, but overall I thought it was pretty good. I just tried to play a pretty simple game.”
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) February 28, 2025
Here’s Palmieri’s goal, crashing the net for the rebound. You never know when it might be his last in an Isles uniform.
Kyle Palmieri: Another goal to up his trade value pic.twitter.com/sDQgRfMR27
— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) February 28, 2025
Alex Romanov had the other goal, late in the first, when he joined a rush with J-G Pageau — and this wasn’t just a finish of a 2-on-1, this was a snipe:
Don’t look now but Alex Romanov has goals in back to back games #isles pic.twitter.com/Jadyv4q18o
— Up The Turnpike (@UpTheTurnpike) February 28, 2025
With Jeremy Swayman pulled for a sixth attacker, the Isles of course never came close to scoring an empty-netter, but the 6-on-5 stretch was just usual, not quite hair-raising pressure. Sorokin was solid during that, but didn’t have to pull off miracles.
Up Next
If they want to, the Isles could really build off this, as they host the Predators at mid-day on Saturday. Nashville is buried among the West’s three earnest lottery chasers.