New York Islanders

Islanders Learn The House Always Wins In Vegas

Published

4 months ago

January 7, 2024

AP Photo/John Locher

The New York Islanders seemed to catch the Vegas Golden Knights at the perfect time on Saturday night. While they were coming off a four-goal win two days ago, they faced the defending Stanely Cup champions in the midst of a 3-7-0 slide.

But by game’s end, the Islanders learned that when in Vegas, the house always wins, falling 5-2 at T-Mobile Arena.

In a balanced second period that began in a 1-1 tie, the Golden Knights tipped the odds in their favor with a pair of goals late in the frame.

Pavel Dorofeyev tapped in a pass from Chandler Stephenson while sitting at the backdoor without a defender in sight. A minute and a half later, Nicholas Roy made it 3-1 Vegas, shooting a puck past a heavily screened Ilya Sorokin.

Islanders head coach Lane Lambert challenged the score for goaltender interference, as Keegan Kolesar did all but sit in Sorokin’s lap, unchallenged by any defenders. But after a lengthy review, the officials found no such evidence. As a result, the Islanders were forced to kill a penalty that carried over into the third.

Coming out of the intermission, it took Jack Eichel just 30 seconds to make the most of the man advantage, scoring his second of the night.

Left uncovered in the slot, he introduced himself to Sorokin early by scoring on Vegas’ first shot on goal to open the scoring at 6:25 of the first.

Roy also hit the jackpot twice in the game. There was no disputing his second goal of the night as he walked to the net to score his seventh of the year.

It wasn’t indicated by the final score, but New York had nearly an equal amount of scoring chances as the Golden Knights. The difference was they made the most of their luck only a few times.

In the lineup for consecutive games for the first time in months, Matt Martin found his second goal of the season by poking a loose puck into the Vegas net with a diving effort.

Mathew Barzal snapped a 10-game scoring drought with his 11th goal of the season at 11:31 of the first.

His shot from behind the goal line deflected off Thompson’s blocker, under the crossbar and back out into play. It wasn’t until the officials reviewed the sequence during a stoppage in play that they confirmed the goal.

As strong as the Islanders ended the first, it began with a scary sight.

Fresh off the opening face-off, Casey Cizikas went for a check and instead got a face full of the boards as he went flying into the wall head first.

The impact left Cizikas with a decent cut above his left eyebrow and a steady stream of red running down his cheek. The wound would’ve kept you or me in the locker room for the remainder of the night. Cizikas, though, never missed a shift.

As soon as his number was called again, Cizikas hit the ice and made sure to hit his mark by finishing a pair of checks.

By losing in regulation, the Islanders conclude their four-game road trip with only three points and a record of 1-2-1. They’ll make a quick stop at home for two games on Tuesday and Thursday before hitting the road again for another week-long trip.