Islanders Down Devils 5-1; Roster Decisions Loom

ELMONT, NY — The New York Islanders defeated the New Jersey Devils 5-1 on Friday night from UBS Arena. Fredrik Karlstrom scored a goal and added an assist, while Dennis Cholowski brought a pair of apples home. The powerplay went 2/5 on the night but started off 2/2 in the first period.

First Period

Karlstrom opened the festivities with a great shot from the right circle, following a brilliant setup by Samuel Bolduc. Bolduc carried the puck through the neutral zone, creating the necessary time and space to make the play. As a whole, Bolduc seemed significantly more confident tonight than he did at any point last year.

Asked about that change in demeanor, Head Coach Patrick Roy said: “Well, sometimes a fresh start is the best thing happening for anyone. So last year was rough, and he took the off-season to regroup. I thought that he came here with a good mindset. I feel like the two games he’s been in, he’s been playing well for us.”

Later in the first period, the Islanders were hemmed in their own zone for the better part of play after the Karlstrom goal. The Devils had the puck and tried to move it to the point, but Maxim Tsyplakov tied up his man, leaving Erik Haula at the blue line. Haula tried a shot, but Kyle MacLean was there to make a play. He blocked the shot and took off on a breakaway, roofing it past Jake Allen for a 2-0 edge.

With less than a minute in the first period, which the Devils mostly controlled, the Islanders got a late powerplay during which Noah Dobson, Mat Barzal, and Bo Horvat went tic-tac-toe, setting up Horvat for a one-timer that surprised Allen.

So, despite being outshot 10-5 in the first frame (7-3 at 5v5), the Islanders ended up 3-0. Even so, Roy wanted more from the Islanders.

“We had to be better in the second. We wanted to be better in the second period defensively. So, we talked about our swarm on the half-wall. Then, we did get better defensively. Basically, our fundamentals were really good after the first period. We did a really nice job.”

Second and Third Period:

As Roy mentioned, the second period started strong for the Islanders. They took control of the play, and Liam Foudy made a very shifty play around the defender. He banked the puck off the wall to spring himself on a breakaway, which he slipped through Allen’s legs. That took the score to 4-0. It was essentially game over from that point.

On a set play for the Devils powerplay, they won a face-off and whipped the puck around the Islanders zone, leaving Timo Meier wide open on the backdoor to slam it home.

That was only the blemish on the mark for Varlamov and the Islanders. Later in the second, the Islanders got another powerplay but officially failed to score. However, after all of two seconds later, Oliver Wahlstrom sent home a scream of a one-timer off a pretty feed from Dennis Cholowski, who told NYI Hockey Now he’s been happy with his camp and continues to take it day by day.

The third period was pretty much a snoozer. Travis Mitchell dropped the gloves with Jonathan Kovacevic after they exchanged shoves, showing more of the grit that’s endeared him to the Islanders this camp. The game finished 5-1, and the Islanders limited the Devils to just 15 shots over the last two periods of the game.

Other Notes: Tsyplakov Injury, Roster Cutdown Looming:

During Patrick Roy’s presser, the Islanders confirmed that Tsyplakov left the game early due to a lower-body injury but that he was only removed as a precaution. It was so precautionary, in fact, that Roy alluded to giving Tsyplakov a look in the top six on Monday.

The Islanders roster cutdown is coming. A formal announcement can be expected as early as tomorrow morning. The first round will likely take the glut of AHL players down to Bridgeport as the B-Isles open up their training camp on Saturday.

Hudson Fasching did not play today and is labeled as day-to-day by the team.

Now, less than two weeks from opening night, decisions are coming.