Islanders Fall 5-2 to Canucks in Must-Win Game; Opportunity Lost

ELMONT, N.Y. — The New York Islanders (32-29-10) had an opportunity to move into a playoff spot for the first time since November 19 with a win on home ice. Instead, the Islanders coughed up a second-period lead and fell 5-2 to the Vancouver Canucks (34-26-12).

After a scoreless opening 20 minutes starring Thatcher Demko’s heroics, Kiefer Sherwood redirected a shot home to give the Canucks a 1-0 lead just 2:39 into the second. That second period featured a whopping five goals, three ties, and two lead changes.

The Islanders tied the game at one courtesy of a Casey Cizikas shorthanded goal, then Anthony DeAngelo put the Islanders one top 2-1 with a goal scored during some four-on-four action. However, for a fourth straight game, the Islanders blew a lead on home ice and fell behind 3-2 before the second even ended.

Aatu Raty scored in his return to UBS Arena, while Derek Forbort’s late goal put the Canucks on top. Just 1:05 into the third, Teddy Blueger made it an insurmountable 4-2.

After two consecutive weak goals, Islanders’ Coach Patrick Roy pulled Ilya Sorokin who made just 15 saves in defeat. In relief, Marcus Hogberg made five saves. Demko stopped 26 in the win.

First Period:

I could just write “Thatcher Demko” in big, bold letters, and that would tell you the entire story of the first period. I’m serious. He took over the entire game with multiple highlight reel saves in the first 20 minutes.

Specifically, he robbed former teammate Bo Horvat on the backdoor early, and then later, he robbed him again during a two-on-one with Noah Dobson. He also made a great point-blank save on Anthony Duclair.

The shots finished 10-5 in favor of the Islanders at the end of the first, and they dictated the terms of play. It felt very similar to the first period against Columbus, only this time the Islanders did not score two goals in the first.

Second Period:

Continuing the trend of repeating the Columbus game, the Islanders came out flat for the second period, and just 2:39 in, they fell behind 1-0. Sherwood’s redirection of a Quinn Hughes shot after blown defensive coverages put New York behind the eight ball.

It went from bad to worse two minutes later when Horvat took a tripping penalty. Instead of sulking, Jean-Gabriel Pageau stole an abhorrent blind pass from Hughes for a two-on-one with Cizikas. Pageau carried and fed Cizikas, who went backhand to forehand and chipped it over the glove of Demko for a 1-1 tie.

Just 3:25 later, the Islanders led 2-1. Cizikas fed DeAngelo loose change from a Pierre Engvall shot and DeAngelo buried it during some four-on-four play. That lead would not last too long, thanks to egregious net front coverage by DeAngelo.

4:59 later Raty, left completely alone on the edge of the paint, redirected a Marcus Pettersson shot for a 2-2 tie. DeAngelo stood a good six feet away from Raty, his man. From that moment on, it became all Canucks.

The Islanders once again became sloppy with their neutral zone play. They almost escaped the period, but then all five skaters were caught puck-watching. On a quick passing play, Jake DeBrusk sent in Forbort for an innocent-looking rush chance that beat Sorokin’s glove side. Dobson and Pageau in particular needed to do more on this play. Dobson did not commit to closing a gap on DeBrusk or Forbort while Pageau stopped skating entirely on the back check.

Instead of a 2-2 tie heading into the third, Forbort’s goal with 22.9 left in the frame gave Vancouver a valuable lead.

Third Period:

After the late Forbort goal, the Islanders needed to show their trademark resilience in the third period. Instead, a turnover and a weak goal from Sorokin saw Blueger put Vancouver up 4-2 1:05 into the third period.

Roy pulled Sorokin after two relatively weak goals. The next few minutes saw sloppy Islanders’ play, all until Simon Holmstrom drew a tripping penalty on Hughes with 13:40 left. It gave the Islanders a potential lifeline, something they desperately needed.

Instead, after a pass sprung Dobson and Holmstrom a two-on-none, Holmstrom waited way too long to feed Dobson, who tried a redirection that skittered wide. After that one look, Vancouver easily cleared a half dozen zone entry attempts and the UBS crowd jeered the Islanders.

Anders Lee had a great chance in front, but again Demko sprawled to say no. Duclair had set up the opportunity, but it was for not. With how locked in Demko was playing, the 4-2 lead proved insurmountable.

After that Lee opportunity, the Canucks put their foot on the gas. They began outskating and outworking the Islanders up and down the ice. New York hardly touched the puck for a quarter of the period.

Finally, the Islanders broke the dam. Engvall buzzed in and rang the post. Then, Cizikas drew a penalty with 4:41 to go. Once more, the Islanders’ power play had a chance to give themselves life in the third period.

Instead, they could not link up on passes. The man advantage came and went, and eventually, Sherwood stuck one into the empty cage. The Islanders blew their opportunity to move into playoff positioning.