Drilling Deeper; Islanders Earn a Point, Fall 4-3 in OT in Edmonton

The New York Islanders’ five-game road trip began with a dud as the team fell 4-3 to the Edmonton Oilers (8-7-1) on Tuesday night. Leon Draisaitl won the game in overtime off a feed from Connor McDavid. McDavid registered four points tonight, leaving him at 999 and one away from 1,000. Draisaitl scored two, including the winner.

The Islanders (6-6-4), short five regulars, began their odyssey to Western Canada in Edmonton against the reigning Western Conference Champions. There have remained no updates on the myriad of injured Islanders, except for Alexander Romanov, who joined the team for skates in a non-contact jersey.

Anthony Duclair, eligible to be reinstated from the LTIR as early as Thursday, has not been seen skating, and the team has not given any updates.

Despite it all, Anders Lee threw the team on his back once the Islanders trailed 3-1 with under eight minutes to go in the third. Lee scored twice, tying the game singlehandedly. Lee has six goals on the year and is currently on pace to blow past his measly 20 from last season. Kyle Palmieri added two more points to his total with a goal and an assist.

Ilya Sorokin stopped 38/42 shots, while Stuart Skinner turned away just 19/22.

Brief Game Story:

The Oilers scored first on a power play goal from Draisaitl. Maxim Tsyplakov set up Palmieri for an equalizer in the second period. Once the third started, Edmonton pushed harder. Evan Bouchard put the Oilers up 2-1. Then, McDavid blatantly took out Oliver Wahlstrom’s legs from underneath him, but nothing got called. Moments later, McDavid scored on a backhand to make it 3-1.

That’s when Lee took over. Lee scored off a Ryan Pulock rebound. Then, with Sorokin pulled, Lee scored as a result of a pretty passing play right in front of Skinner off a feed from Jean-Gabriel Pageau. That sent the game to overtime, where the Oilers showed their skill and drained the Islanders of all their energy before Draisaitl finished the game off a feed from McDavid.

The Comeback and Why the Islanders Are Just SO Weird.

This team is never, and I mean NEVER, boring. In the back half of the last two games, the Islanders had a 3-1 lead over the New Jersey Devils and trailed 3-1 tonight. They ended up with 2 points from the games and zero wins. One collapse, one comeback, zero wins. Two points. Logic defying.

Hockey is so weird. The Islanders make it even weirder. They’ve played 16 games and have won only six. Yet, continuing the theme of last season, the team finds ways to get points and be in a dogfight around the playoff bubble. Injuries and all, the Islanders don’t give up.

Even when it’s mind-numbing, utterly befuddling collapses or inspiring comebacks, the only certain thing is uncertainty regarding the New York Islanders.

Per the Islanders MSGSN Broadcast postgame, Edmonton absolutely dominated the Islanders. Edmonton had 16 HD Chances to New York’s 2. The Oilers had 12 chances off the cycle, while the Islanders had 2. OZ Possession time? 8:55 to 4:03. You can guess who held that edge.

Head Coach Patrick Roy told the media postgame the team should be happy to steal a point in the game where they essentially got pounded all night. He’s right. That’s not a game the Islanders should win or get a point in, especially from 3-1 down late in the third.

The next stop on the road trip is Thursday night in Vancouver against the Canucks. Bo Horvat’s former club welcomes him in as a visitor for just the second time in his career, and he wears a letter for the Islanders now. The puck drops just after 10 o’clock on the East Coast Thursday night.