Instant Islanders: Takeaways From Shootout Loss To Kraken

Elmont, NY– The New York Islanders lost to the Seattle Kraken by the final of 2-1 in a shootout on Tuesday night.

Kraken forward Tomas Tatar scored the deciding and only goal in the shootout. Matty Beniers had a goal for Seattle, while Phillip Grubauer stopped 25 of 26 shots in his first start since Dec. 9.

Kyle Palmieri scored his 15th goal of the season for the Islanders. Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves on 31 shots in goal.

But that’s just the box score. Here are the key takeaways from the night that was at UBS Arena.

Bottled Up On Breakouts:

On more than one occasion, the Islanders spent extended time pinned in their own end, unable to move the puck out against Seattle’s fast and heavy forecheck.

At one point, the Islanders’ top unit of Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat, Anders Lee, Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov was stuck playing defense for more than two and a half minutes during the second period.

The Islanders were held to just four scoring chances in the game compared to 10 for Seattle.

Passive Power Play:

The Islanders had a huge chance to get on the board in the first period when Andre Burakovsky was assessed a double-minor penalty for high-sticking Jean-Gabriel Pageau.

But throughout their four-minute man advantage, the Islanders spent more time passing the puck up around the blue line than firing it toward the blue paint, registering just three shots on goal.

Although the Islanders were able to tie the score via a power play goal from Kyle Palmieri in the second period, failing to capitalize on that first opportunity cost them.

They finished the night one for two on the power play. Over the last month, they’ve gone five for 31 on the man advantage.

Grubauer Gives Them Fits:

Phillip Grubauer started in goal for the Seattle Kraken for the first time in more than two months on Tuesday and showed no signs of rust. It’s not as if the Islanders challenged him all that much, though.

Very few, if any, of the 26 shots the Islanders fired at the Seattle net forced Grubauer to move in his crease. For three periods, Grubauer stood tall with a clear line of sight toward the shooter, with the Islanders providing little traffic in front of him and was a brick wall come overtime and the shootout.

All the while, Seattle pushed its way to the Islanders’ net and caused chaos in front of Ilya Sorokin, whose strong performance was once again spoiled.

Up Next:

Managing to salvage a point, the Islanders are now three points back of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with a record of 22-18-13.

The Islanders will have the next four days off as they prepare for their matchup at MetLife Stadium with the New York Rangers in the NHL Stadium Series.

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