Islanders Daily: Sorokin Plays Spoiler, Wahlstrom Benched & More

The New York Islanders may not be making the playoffs, but that did not stop them from spoiling the Pittsburgh Penguins chances of clinching as they defeated their rivals 5-4 in a shootout. In the New York Islanders win, Oliver Wahlstrom was benched in the third period as he just needs to be better in all facets of his game.

These stories and more in today’s daily links!

The New York Islanders may have blown two leads, a 3-1 lead and a 4-3 lead, but backed by a tremendous effort from netminder Ilya Sorokin, the Islanders came away victorious as they won 5-4 in a shootout. Here’s how it happened. (NYI Hockey Now)

On Tuesday, Oliver Wahlstrom was benched in the 5-4 shootout victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, as he did not touch the ice following his final shift of the second period (3:55-2:09). Before the game, Trotz spoke on Wahlstrom and again the patience factor. Story was updated following the 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. (NYI Hockey Now)

The Pittsburgh Penguins had a chance to clinch their 16th consecutive playoff berth and do so against a rival that summarily dismissed them from the playoffs in two of the past three years. Better still, the Penguins had a chance to clinch their playoff berth by beating the New York Islanders, who have had a dismal year. Despite collecting a point, the Penguins fell 5-4 in the shootout. (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

On Tuesday night, the Boston Bruins fell to the St. Louis Blues by a score of 4-2. Former Bruins defenseman Tory Krug showed the T.D. Garden crowd what they were missing in his first time back in Boston as he netted the tying goal and led the rush that gave the Blues a 4-2 lead. Here’s more takeaways from the loss. (Boston Hockey Now)

Alex Ovechkin was smiles as his Washington Capitals kept the good times rolling on Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers. Washington’s tilt with the Flyers had a little bit of everything: highlight-reel goals, big hits and strong defense with the Capitals looking to extend its winning streak and continue shaking up the playoff picture in the East. The result, a 9-2 victory. (Washington Hockey Now)

Bobby Brink’s NHL debut was a success Tuesday night, but you could understand why he wasn’t gloating. His Philadelphia Flyers were crushed by Washington, 9-2, at Capital One Arena. “Definitely was hoping it could have been a little better with the result of the game,” Brink, 20, said of the loss, the Flyers most lopsided defeat of the season. “But it was definitely nice to play a game. It’s a dream come true.” (Philly Hockey Now)

The Florida Panthers may be the highest scoring team in the NHL but sometimes a top-notch goalie on his game, like John Gibson was Tuesday, can keep an inferior team in a game they have no business being in. As John Gibson did Tuesday. However, the Panthers found a way as they won 3-2, their eighth consecutive win. (Florida Hockey Now)

The Montreal Canadiens have just cleared the cap space needed for goalie Carey Price to be activated onto the roster and play his first game of the season. According to our friends at PuckPedia, the Montreal Canadiens just placed Jonathan Drouin on LTIR and as a result, the Habs just gained $5.5 million in cap space. Drouin recently underwent successful wrist surgery and was ruled out for the season this past Saturday. (Montreal Hockey Now)

The Vegas Golden Knights lost in overtime to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. They got a point, yes, but the Golden Knights really needed the extra one as the Stanley Cup Playoffs draw near. There were a few games on Tuesday night outside of Vancouver that directly affected the Golden Knights. The Minnesota Wild defeated the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 and the Calgary Flames beat the Seattle Kraken 5-3. The games that most affected the Vegas Golden Knights all went the wrong way. Here’s their latest playoff odds. (Vegas Hockey Now)

The San Jose Sharks visit Music City to take on the Nashville Predators. Kaapo Kahkonen kept the Sharks in it in the first two periods, shutting out Nashville despite a 26-13 Shots deficit. KK continued to stand tall in the third period, ending 60 minutes with 40 saves and a 0-0 score. But the Predators came up with a 1-0 OT win. (San Jose Hockey Now)

Without Tanner Pearson and Brock Boeser, which forced a defenseman in Kyle Burroughs to play forward, the Vancouver Canucks picked up a critical overtime win over the Vegas Golden Knights thanks to Quinn Hughes’s GWG. Here’s how the 5-4 win came to be. (Vancouver Hockey Now)

Matthew Tkachuk recorded his second career hat-trick and Johnny Gaudreau reached the 100-point plateau for the first time as the Calgary Flames beat the visiting Seattle Kraken 5-3 on Tuesday Tkachuk, who had scored the Flames’ lone goal with the Kraken leading 3-1 after two periods of play, started his team’s offensive comeback 3:10 into the third period and added an empty-net tally at the end. He now has 37 goals on the season, one behind team goals leader and linemate Elias Lindholm, and 92 points. (Calgary Hockey Now)