New York Islanders
Islanders Use Strong Second Period to Down Sharks 4-1

ELMONT, NY — The New York Islanders (18-20-7) snapped their two-game skid with a 4-1 win over the lowly San Jose Sharks (14-28-6) on Saturday night. The Islanders fueled their win with a strong second period, scoring three goals. Before the game, the Islanders inducted Brent Sutter into the team’s Hall of Fame.
Sutter gave the team a simple message during his speech. “Enjoy every second of it (being an Islander).”
Hearing that call, Brock Nelson scored the Islanders’ second goal, which also served as the game-winner in the second period. It’s his 288th career goal. The goal moved him into sole possession of the fifth-most goals in franchise history. Fittingly, he passed Sutter and Pat LaFontaine to do so.
Elsewhere, Mathew Barzal scored with a brilliant individual effort. to initially put the Islanders up 1-0. With just 26 seconds left in the period, Noah Dobson’s point shot hit a San Jose defender and redirected past Sharks goaltender Alexander Georgiev.
Barzal recorded an assist on Dobson’s goal, meaning he bumped past Sutter for the ninth-most assists in franchise history.
Marcus Hogberg made 26 saves in the victory. Georgiev faced 24 shots in the first two periods alone, stopping 21. The Islanders only sent seven more shots in the third, bringing Georgiev’s save total to 27.
First Period:
The first period went by pretty slowly. The Islanders suppressed chances in their own end and slowly worked past the initial layers of San Jose’s defense.
Marc Gatcomb, playing in his second NHL game, had the highlight of the period when he stole a puck and danced around a pair of Sharks with silky mitts. He came very close to burying it, but Georgiev denied the bid. The rebound kicked out to Dobson, who rifled it home for what appeared to be a 1-0 Islanders lead.
Instead, Kyle MacLean had skated right into Georgiev and clearly bumped him off balance, and the goal was waved off on the ice. Later, Bo Horvat had a breakaway snatched away after a great takeaway by Jake Walman.
The Islanders’ lone power play of the game came in the first period and was relatively uneventful. Anders Lee had the best chance with a rebound that stayed out.
The period ended with the Islanders outshooting the Sharks 10-4, but the game remained tied 0-0.
Second Period:
The action ramped up immediately in the second period. William Eklund had to sprawl to keep out a Lee wraparound bid within the first minute of the frame. In total, the Islanders peppered seven shots on Georgiev in the first three minutes of the second period but could not buy a goal.
After that pressure, Ryan Pulock took an obvious interference penalty, and it felt like the Sharks might just score, taking away the momentum and confidence the Islanders had been playing with.
However, the Islanders had an extremely efficient kill, and just under three minutes later, Barzal made it 1-0. The goal might be Barzal’s best of the season thus far. He stole the puck inside the blue of his own zone, then burst forward. Using his speed, he cut in, drew a penalty, but ultimately cut around Georgiev and scored a massive goal.
2:15 later, former New York Ranger and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Barclay Goodrow flung a nothing wrister form along the wall. However, Hogberg was not prepared for the shot. Caught deep in his net, the shot beat him cleanly on the blocker side.
Exactly 40 seconds later, Nelson broke the temporary tie. Adam Pelech made a gorgeous breakout pass all the way to Kyle Palmieri in front of the Islanders’ bench. Palmieri and Nelson had a two-on-one, and Palmieri slipped to Nelson. Nelson chipped it upstairs on Georgiev’s glove into the top corner.
The Islanders continued to dictate the pace, and eventually, Dobson sent a hard shot that deflected in front of Georgiev and went in. Lee set a nice screen as Barzal sent the pass to Dobson at the blue line.
Third Period:
One minute and three seconds into the third period, Pulock sent a 93mph one-timer past Georgiev’s low-blocker for a 4-1 lead. Anthony Duclair snapped an eight-game point drought with the primary assist on Pulock’s goal.
After that, the game devolved into two teams milking the clock. Neither took any major risks nor did either threaten. Credit the Islanders; they did something they couldn’t do last year.
They beat the Sharks after taking a 4-1 lead in the third period.
In all seriousness, it was a really strong effort. San Jose didn’t have many looks toward the net, and Hogberg stood tall once again despite the shaky goal. In fact, San Jose thought the game so elementary that they didn’t even bother with pulling Georgiev for an extra attacker in the dying minutes of the third period.
The win kept any slim hopes alive, but the Islanders remain 15th in the Eastern Conference and seven points outside a playoff spot.