3 Takeaways: Confidence Brewing in Latest Win Over Buffalo

On Thursday night, the New York Islanders defeated the Buffalo Sabres 4-1. In their first game in 10 days, the Islanders saw youngsters step up in a big way, Semyon Varlamov continued his strong play and the Islanders continued to keep their foot on the gas.

Here are the takeaways from the win.

Young Guns Pop Off

In Thursday’s win, two youngsters stepped up in forward Kieffer Bellows and defenseman Noah Dobson.

The 23-year old Bellows netted a goal and an assist in 16:00 minutes on Thursday His goal, the game-winner at 6:45 of the second period came on a great individual effort. His assist, which helped give the Islanders establish a two-goal lead, came on a power-play shift in the second period.

His ability to be patient with the puck has been the method to his success as of late, as he showcased the same skill in the Islanders’ last game back on Dec. 19 against Vegas.

“I’m feeling confident in my game right now and I’m feeling good out there,” Bellows said. ” Just more patient with the puck, just having that extra split-second to make choices out there.”

As for Dobson, his ability to play strong in the defensive zone and jump up on the rush has made him a dangerous player this season from the backend. In 20:42 minutes of game action, Dobson had a goal, an assist, a hit, and a block in the contest.

“Just for myself, just trying to focus on playing my game,” Dobson said. “Think it just starts with playing hard in the d-zone and everything works off of that. Just playing with a lot of confidence right now and trying to be responsible defensively and offensively chip in when I can.”

Semyon Strong Yet Again

Islanders netminder Semyon Varlamov had not played in about two weeks prior to manning the crease Thursday against Buffalo. But that did not stop him from standing tall as he denied 36 of the 37 shots he faced. While the struggle to control his rebounds had more to do with the rust from not playing, Varlamov came up with timely saves throughout the contest. A deflected puck in the first period was tracked with ease and even when shooters had point-blank opportunities, Varlamov was aggressive and tracked them well.

Varlamov, who got off to a rather slow start this season, seems to be finding his game as of late. He picked up his second win of the season Thursday, his second consecutive win as he build on his previous start against Boston, a 3-1 win on Dec. 16.

#Isles netminder Semyon Varlamov has now stopped 76 of the last 78 shots he faced.

— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) December 31, 2021

“I feel great today, fresh,” Varlamov said following the win. “A lot of time to do workouts and stuff and we had a couple of good practices.”

Trotz said following the game that the Islanders are going to need both their goaltenders to be on their game as the season continues and it looks like Varlamov has taken strides each and every outing.

“I thought Varlamov was solid in net,” Trotz said.  “Some of the saves he made, the timely saves, he made them look a lot easier than they really were.”

“I give a lot of credit to Varlamov. He was really composed.”

Keeping the Skate on the Gas

Despite having allowed the tying goal with a minute to play in the first period, the Islanders never stopped playing their game. Following Mat Barzal’s opening tally, the Islanders continued to grind in the offensive zone and earned a power-play chance. Although the chance went by the board, momentum followed as the chances continued to pile up despite what the shot total may show.

In the second period, the Islanders continued to put on the pressure and picked up two goals to give themselves a two-goal cushion.

But they were not done there, as a fourth in the third put this game out of reach.

Prior to puck drop Islanders head coach Barry Trotz spoke to the importance of having a strong work ethic and being smart with the puck following a 10-day break. The Islanders listened to their head coach and that allowed them to continue to get opportunities.

The defense jumped up when they were able to, the Islanders forwards did not pass up shot opportunities, and a strong forecheck led to a successful night.

The Islanders had a steady dose of shots, with nine in the first, 12 in the second, and 11 in the third. Only two Islanders failed to record a shot on goal in the win, in Robin Salo and Ross Johnston, who did other things to help the Islanders come away with two points.