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Islanders News: Not all loser points are created equal

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New York Islanders v Edmonton Oilers
The captain. | Photo by Paul Swanson/NHLI via Getty Images

The Islanders stole one last night, as opposed to their usual giving away the extra point.

Not all loser points are created equal. Some are frustrating, earned only after blowing leads and dropping the extra point. The New York Islanders certainly know a thing or two about that.

But sometimes a team steals a loser point, coming back to force overtime in a game they had no business being in or doing so. That, for a change, is how the Islanders earned their latest loser point last night. Aside from a few stretches, the Edmonton Oilers mostly dominated Islanders and opened up a two-goal lead in the third period. No one would blame you if you thought the Isles were cooked—well, except Anders Lee and Ilya Sorokin.

After Sorokin kept the Islanders from getting blown out of Northern Alberta, Lee notched two third-period goals, including an Islanders 6-on-5 goal(?!), to force overtime. Of course, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the ice together at 3-on-3 would be a cheat code even against a fully healthy roster, which the Islanders obviously do not have right now; without Mat Barzal, the mission was going to be even tougher. However, while the Islanders should not be pleased with how they played overall, they should be pleased with snagging an extra standings point to open this trip out west. They have points in their last four games (2-0-2) and in five of their last six. They’re well on their way to another psychotic record, now 6-6-4.

And as an added bonus, the Islanders prevented us from watching yet another opposing player achieve a milestone: McDavid entered the contest five points shy of 1,000, but he only got four off the Islanders.

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Islanders News

About last night:
  • It wasn’t just Lee and Sorokin; Kyle Palmieri and Max Tsyplakov also contributed a pretty goal, and Palmieri had a good night. [LHH]
  • Patrick Roy had the same takeaway as I wrote, that this is a loser point you happily take. [Islanders]
  • The Islanders haven’t won in Edmonton since March 2017 and lost 12 of their last 13 there. [Newsday]
  • But they know they were fortunate even to get one point last night. [NY Post]

“Ilya Sorokin has faced at least forty shots one time this season and 30 times in his career. Only Billy Smith, who played more than three times the number of games as an Islander, faced 40 more often (46 times).

“Sorokin has made at least 40 saves 18 times in his career, which is a franchise record. He finished with 38 saves tonight.” [NYI Skinny]

Not just about last night:
  • Palmieri swapped out the fishbowl for Shawn Bates’ long visor and it helped on his one-time goal. [THN]
  • Alex Romanov has been practicing in a non-contact jersey and didn’t play last night. They’re not rushing him back, wisely so even though we miss him. [Newsday]
  • Isaiah George’s start may have surprised us, but his junior team isn’t shocked. [NY Post | The Athletic]
  • Roy values Matt Martin as a leader and appreciates that Martin remains a leader even as a part-timer. Last night was game no. 960 for the veteran. [Newsday]
  • This Day in Isles History: Double chili night against the Rangers (1979); the Islanders trade for Ray Ferraro from the Hartford Whalers (1990).

Elsewhere

Last night’s NHL scores include the Jets continuing to win, going to 15-1-0 by beating the Rangers on the road. Also, the Devils snapped the Panthers’ seven-game winning streak.

  • The Penguins’ loss the other night was so embarrassing that Evgeni Malkin apologized to the fans for it. [NHL]
  • It may have kicked off the sell-off because then they traded Lars Eller back to the Capitals for a couple of draft picks. [NHL]
  • Former NHLer and former Team Sweden GM and coach Johan Garpenlov says his country should not allow Erik Karlsson to represent them. [Twitter]