Islanders 4, Canadiens 3 (OT): Horvat’s two goals puts Isles two points back of wild card

Also: I mean Ilya Sorokin, two assists.

The Islanders won their third game in a row and it was a big one, though their coughing up a two-goal third-period lead meant it wasn’t as rewarding as it could’ve been. By going to overtime, they allowed the wild card-holding Montreal Canadiens a standings point despite prevailing 4-3 on Bo Horvat’s OT winner.

That, combined with other results on the night, brought the Islanders up to two points behind the Canadiens (in the second wild card spot) and tying the Rangers (who lost again) while pulling a point ahead of the Blue Jackets (who lost in OT).

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In a fun bit of trivia, Ilya Sorokin was credited with two assists, each on Horvat goals where the Isles center skated the length of the ice. The second, the overtime winner was a little more impressive: Horvat came all the way back to the Isles net to check elusive Habs defenseman Lane Hutson’s scoring attempt, then circled the net to accept Tony DeAngelo’s outlet after Sorokin’s pokecheck.

That created a 2-on-1 for Horvat, who looked off Kyle Palmieri and whipped a great shot high inside the near post to finish the game.

No matter where they are or what the stakes, that collective crowd roar of “Yyyy-EAAHHH” on a sudden death winner always thrills.

First Period

The Canadiens appeared to have a gameplan of puting multiple bodies in front of Ilya Sorokin, and sometimes throwing their actual bodies at the Isles goalie. He fought through traffic and interferences to make some big saves in the first four minutes until Brendan Gallagher took a penalty.

In a shock, the Islanders power play converted. Anders Lee bounced Alexander Carrier the hell out of the way to win possession in the corner, quickly feeding Anthony Duclair at the doorstep. Duclair shoveled a shot in one motion that somehow lobbed over Sam Montembeault to give the Isles an early 1-0 lead.

Montreal tied it about six minutes later on a nothing play where Sorokin and Noah Dobson were outworked. It was a soft point shot and Sorokin left a simple rebound — whether he checked out or whether he was leaving it for Dobson was unclear. But Dobson was soft on his man coming from behind the net, and Joshua Roy had an easy slap to put the puck in.

In the second period, the Canadiens appeared to take a 2-1 lead when Nick Suzuki took a pass at the Isles blueline for a breakaway to beat Sorokin. But the Islanders challenged and he was just barely offside when he received the puck. It was one of those rare offside reviews that directly affected the goalscoring play, as opposed to some random zone entry 15 seconds prior.

So instead of a 2-1 deficit, a miracle happened: a second Islanders power play goal in the same game. It was the result of some good, quick around-the-zone work, too, concluding with a sizzling Simon Holmstrom (!) one-timer.

Third Period

The Isles began the third period on a high note, with Bo Horvat charging down the left wing and willing a shot past Montembeault for a two-goal cushion just 2:31 in.

But the Isles would burn through that cushion. Kyle MacLean took a tripping penalty soon after, and Patrik Laine got one back on the ensuing power play after a yard sale of bodies — Adam Pelech being one of them, naturally — created an open lane for Laine’s one-timer. The Isles challenged for goalie interference and lost the challenge, but they killed off the ensuing penalty.

Though the Canadiens continued to press the 3-2 deficit, it was a broken play and counterattack that led to the tying goal at 14:16.

On a broken play in the Canadiens zone, J-G Pageau bobbled the puck, then resettled it, but that was enough for the Habs to read his flubbed backhand pass attempt, sending Brendan Gallagher sprinting on an uncontested breakaway. Mike Reilly blew a tire in pursuit to add poetry to the replay, but he wouldn’t have caught Gallagher, who put a shot over Sorokin’s gloveside shoulder.

The two wild card chasers played it mostly carefully the rest of the way, though there were some hairy moments on the way to overtime.

Overtime itself was a careful possession game with mostly outside opportunities for either side, each being very guarded whenever they lost possession.

Up Next

On Saturday afternoon the Islanders host the Flames, who themselves erased a two-goal third period lead to beat New Jersey tonight. The Flames are in every bit as thick of a wild card race out West, so it should be a similarly high-stakes, intensely contested meeting.