Roy Fumes, But the Islanders Beat the Blackhawks 5-4

ELMONT, NY — The New York Islanders (12-12-7) hung on to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks (9-18-2). With just nine minutes left in the third period, the Islanders led 5-1. Somehow, the game got to a point where the Blackhawks, a team currently 31st in the NHL, rattled off three straight and had the Islanders’ fanbase holding their breath. Chicago even yanked their goalie, Arvid Soderblom, after he allowed five goals on nine shots. Somehow, it became a game.

The Collapse and Roy’s Fury:

Yes, the fourth Chicago goal was scored with 10 seconds left. Yes, the Islanders hung on and won. But time after time, when holding a lead in the third, the team finds a way to wilt and nearly lose games. Just ask Islanders Head Coach Patrick Roy about how he felt about that near Hindenburg-esque disaster:

“I guess times have changed… In my days, if my team would have done that to me, I would break a stick in that room. I’d be very upset to see my team playing like this in front of me. Ilya is a gentleman; he’s a first-class person, but that was unacceptable. We didn’t compete. We didn’t battle in front of the net in the last eight minutes. That’s unacceptable. We talked about it this morning to be stronger. Our goalie deserved more respect than this from ourselves.”

He said that with all the fire in his eyes. That same fire he had the night Montreal left him in for nine goals. It was easily the angriest, most publicly frustrated Roy had been all season. And for good reason. He might not have said it aloud, but that “effort” demonstrated a blatant lack of respect for Ilya Sorokin. He finished the night with 26 saves on 30 shots.

That type of epic collapse cannot come close to even happening. But it did, and now what should’ve been a great night turned into a nightmare that still ended with two points. Just for fun, here are the first three paragraphs I’d written prior to the shelling:

If Only It Finished 5-1…

Simon Holmstrom led the way with a goal and two primary assists in the victory. It was his first career three-point performance, and it shows the continued growth of the 2019 first-rounder.

The key to the victory came in the third period. After a season of blowing leads, the Islanders entered the third up 2-1. Instead of falling victim to their usual sitting back ways, the Islanders surged. Notably, they scored three goals in 2:17, turning the game from tense into a total laugher.

Credit Ilya Sorokin. He made multiple tough, physical saves early in this one that helped steady the ship after a really sleepy first 20 minutes. The Islanders trailed 1-0 after the first frame, marking the fourth straight home game where the Islanders trailed after 20.

Sorokin and the Start of the Game:

Man, just reading that last paragraph stings. A night where Sorokin kept them in it early now turns into a night where the whole team owes him a steak dinner with a brownie for dessert.

Roy and the team in the room called the first period “not their best” while being generous to themselves. They were outshot by the 31st-placed Blackhawks 11-5 and showed no signs of competing, even with a later-period power play that generated nothing. That lackadaisical start turned fans off so much that they booed the team off the ice after the first period.

Then, Chicago handed the Islanders a second power play, and just three seconds after it expired, Holmstrom set up Dennis Cholowski for a one-time blast that beat Soderblom clean and tied the game one. From there, it turned.

The Surge To Victory:

After Cholowski’s goal, the game turned. The shots read 14-6 for Chicago during the second, but by the end of the period, the shots were 16-15 for Chicago.

Holmstrom’s goal showed just how much he’s grown. He received a pass on the outside part of the face-off circle. There, he burned his defender and turned into the slot, and from the top of that slot, he wired home an absolute howitzer that gave Soderblom no chance. He scored that goal with 5:54 left in the second, which held true into the third period.

Up 2-1, the Islanders had a chance to defend a third-period lead, something they’ve notably struggled to do.

However, the aforementioned flurry of goals, three in 2:17, carried the Islanders to victory. They needed every single one of those goals to do it.

The goals came from Noah Dobson, Maxim Tsyplakov, and Bo Horvat. Horvat’s came after Holmstrom made the pass of the game, sliding a perfect pass to Horvat’s tape through the seam.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau registered three assists, matching his career high dating back to his Ottawa Senators days.