Islanders Fight but Fall in OT; Engvall’s Best Game of 2025

ELMONT, N.Y. – The New York Islanders (29-28-8) fought hard but ultimately fell short 2-1 in overtime against the Edmonton Oilers (38-24-4). Leon Draisaitl’s pair of goals extended his point streak to 17 games. Draisaitl also registered his 100th point of the season on the overtime winner.

Similar to Tuesday night’s game in Los Angeles, the Islanders fought hard after a slow start and arguably deserved a better fate. However, like Head Coach Patrick Roy said this morning, the results are what matters. Tonight, that result became a loss.

In truth, the Islanders’ slow start set up another spectacular show from Ilya Sorokin. He kept out all 17 first-period shots slung his way. He made 33 saves in the overtime defeat. Calvin Pickard stopped 25/26 in the victory for Edmonton.

Bo Horvat’s early third-period goal tied the game just 81 seconds into the third and remained the lone tally for the Islanders. Other than Sorokin, the best player for New York was easily Pierre Engvall.

Engvall’s Big Game:

Engvall played a season-high 15:36, along with multiple overtime shifts. He recorded four shots on net, tied for the second-most he’s had this season. It’s also the first time he’s even recorded three shots on goal since November 19 against the Calgary Flames.

Engvall spoke postgame about how the overtime shifts showed the team believes in him, before adding, “We played really hard. To get those extra shifts, it means a lot. The confidence comes with that.”

He may not have recorded any points, but Engvall’s fingerprints are all over the point the Islanders received tonight. His coach, who has helped decide to waive him multiple times, praised him.

“He had energy tonight. He was skating. I’m here to win; don’t get me wrong. He deserved to play. That’s what I ask of him; force me to play him.”

Pelech’s Defensive Showcase:

Overtime started in just about the worst possible way for the Islanders. Connor McDavid and Draisaitl worked their magic, hemming in the Islanders quickly. Then, Simon Holmstrom’s stick broke. The push continued until Adam Pelech literally made a kick save while prone on an Evan Bouchard one-timer. It clearly stung him, as he slowly hunched over as the shift for Edmonton continued.

Eventually, Sorokin gloved a chance and hung on. The shift drew loud cheers of appreciation for the defenders. Postgame, Pelech said he felt okay and walked around the room with no impediments. Roy praised the effort, saying, “I was pretty proud of our group. I mean [the way we] defended, it was a huge block by Pelly. When you play three on three and have a broken stick against McDavid and Draisaitl, you might be in a little bit of trouble.”

Some other takeaways include the fact that the Islanders need to show up on time. Tonight, they blamed the time change and it being the first game on the East Coast. Fittingly, it was the same excuse in San Jose last weekend for the first game out west.

Final Takeaways & Observations:

In total, the Islanders have been outshot 61 to 26 over their last four first periods. No matter what the excuse is, that is nowhere near good enough, and it puts them behind the eight ball. The team talks a lot about having a fast start, but too often it has not happened.

Scott Mayfield had another bad game. He had a glorious offensive opportunity but fumbled the puck, then took a frustration penalty on the other end of the ice. He played a defensive-low 14:04, over five minutes less than every other defenseman. Anthony DeAngelo had the fifth-lowest, and his fumbling of the puck in the offensive zone eventually led to Draisaitl’s winner. At some point, Scott Perunovich and Mike Reilly have to play. Mayfield and DeAngelo are the obvious candidates to come out.

Maxim Tsyplakov’s struggles continued. Yes, he’s playing on the fourth line, but he received some power-play time and failed to impress in his limited minutes. He played just 11:33 tonight.

The Islanders have scored just three goals in their last three games. Roy joked postgame, “It’s actually five,” referring to the disallowed goals against the Kings. Either way, the top six isn’t working. It may be time to flip Anders Lee back up to Horvat’s wing and try Duclair with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Holmstrom.

The Islanders are somehow just four points outside of a playoff spot. However, before they play Saturday, it’s guaranteed to be at least six points. The New York Rangers take on the Columbus Blue Jackets tomorrow in Columbus. The winner of that will take ownership of the second wild card spot.