Fight like Rocky: Takeaways from the Islanders’ 2-1 Win over Golden Knights

ELMONT, N.Y. — The New York Islanders (25-21-7) defeated the Vegas Golden Knights (31-17-6) 2-1 on Tuesday night in UBS Arena. Brock Nelson scored the game-winning goal with 9:17 in the third period.

The game fits the theme Islanders’ Head Coach Patrick Roy set this morning. Speaking about all the injuries, specifically Mathew Barzal and Scott Mayfield’s injuries, Roy compared the downtrodden Islanders to Rocky Balboa, the fictional movie hero.

“I was watching Rocky I the other day. You know, Rocky’s beat up but bouncing up and down. [Apollo Creed] looks at him like, ‘What are you doing? Go down!’ But Rocky refuses to go down. We love people [like that]. People that refuse to go down. We love people who want to battle for their dreams and who will fight. That’s what we’re going to have to do.”

Channeling that energy of fighting back, even when overmatched, the Islanders surged and found a way to get a big win on home ice, their sixth-straight victory in UBS Arena.

Vegas outshot the Islanders 34-14 in the game. After Bo Horvat’s breakaway goal to go up 1-0 late in the first period, the Knights outshot New York 30-10 the rest of the game. Absorbing body blows left and right, the Islanders weathered the storm and came out on top.

Brandon Saad tied the game up in the third period with 12:20 to go. Just over three minutes later, Nelson’s deflection of an Alexander Romanov shot put the resilient Islanders back on top for good.

Takeaway #1: Ilya Sorokin is on another planet

Ilya Sorokin remained red hot tonight, stopping 33 of 34 shots en route to another victory, his seventh straight. He remained extremely well-positioned all night long and made all but one save.

The one that went in is hardly his fault. Pierre Engvall failed to tie up his man, Saad, for the rebound that kicked out. One unlucky bounce, but he shut everything else out.

When asked about his performance, Sorokin credited the defense. He talked all about his clear visuals, which made his job easy. It’s been a theme during this now 11-3-0 stretch in the last 14 games. Even so, his positioning has been back to his Vezina level, which earned him his major contract extension.

Takeaway #2: Seriously, this team has guts:

The Vegas Golden Knights entered tonight 3-7-3 in their last 13 games. They came off a tight 4-2 loss on Sunday to the New York Rangers. Following yet another loss, they’ve dropped further below the Edmonton Oilers in the Pacific Division race.

All that to say, they were hungry. All night, they battled and out-possessed the Islanders. They did all they could to break through and get to the interior. The Islanders kept them out every time they tried, almost like a forcefield. Heck, the Golden Knights set a franchise record for the fewest shots allowed in a single game (14).

None of it mattered. The Islanders fought and won.

As a team, the Islanders threw 26 hits, blocked 11 shots, and forced a total of 26 turnovers throughout the game. They did with three defensemen playing for over 25 minutes and the other three for less than 16 minutes total.

They had to fight and scrape for every inch. In the final minute, Simon Holmstrom found himself blocking a shot that broke his stick. That left him with no choice but to then block another heavy shot.

Said Holmstrom, “You want to get in a lane and not let anything get through. It hurt, but it was nice to block it.”

Takeaway #3: Playoffs within reach?

The New York Islanders are three points outside of a playoff spot with 57 points in 53 games. That will remain true when they wake up. Separating them from a spot are the following teams: Columbus Blue Jackets (59pts/54GP), Detroit Red Wings**(59pts/53GP), Boston Bruins (60pts/55GP)*, Tampa Bay Lightning (60pts/52GP)*

*Wild Card spots

**Currently tied with the Seattle Kraken 2-2. A win moves them to the first-place Wild Card spot.

That’s it. For all the talk of falling too far behind, the Islanders are that close. Columbus has started to free fall with their injuries piling up. Boston has been maddeningly inconsistent all season, and the Islanders play them shortly after the Four Nation’s Face-Off concludes. Detroit is red hot, currently riding a six-game win streak. Tampa Bay does not feel like a team the Islanders will catch, as they haven’t missed the playoffs since the 2016-17 season.

It’s somehow right there for them. They have games left against every team in the race except the Red Wings. The Islanders truly control their fate.

This weekend, they have the always-daunting Winnipeg-Minnesota double. First, the Jets on Friday night. 24 hours later, Minnesota welcomes them in. Much like the Florida game this past weekend, the Minnesota game almost feels like a scheduled loss.

Then again, Rocky always fights.