Palmieri, Nelson Torch Blues; Islanders Snap Skid with 3-1 Win

ELMONT, NY —  The New York Islanders (8-8-5) defeated the St. Louis Blues (9-12-1) 3-1 on Saturday night in UBS Arena. The large, collective gust of wind that blew eastbound around 10:00 tonight resulted from the Islanders successfully protecting a one-goal lead in the third period for the first time all season. Kyle Palmieri scored twice on a milestone-filled night in Elmont.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Islanders, who had blown third-period leads in three successive games.

Brock Nelson moved into a tie with John Tonelli for 9th all-time in points in franchise history, knocking Bob Bourne out from the top 10 in the process. Nelson registered the game-winning power-play goal and two primary assists in the win, lifting the Islanders to a much-needed victory.

Ilya Sorokin picked up his 100th career victory tonight. That milestone prompted Head Coach Patrick Roy to quip, “He’s only what 500, 600 back of Marty (Martin Brodeur).” Sorokin denied 24/25 shots in the victory.

Jake Neighbours scored the lone goal for the St. Louis Blues on an early third-period power play. Jordan Binnington stopped 28/30 in the loss.

Major Takeaways:

Man, did the Islanders ever need this win? The team knew it, and their fans did, too. The focus became evident right from puck drop, as the Islanders took it to the Blues early and often. The team played with more snarl than they had in recent games, with Jean-Gabriel Pageau landing some big hits. Scott Mayfield set a career-high in blocked shots with nine(!) tonight.

If you asked Roy, he would tell you that focus and energy started long before the puck drop.

“We wanted to win that game. It was a key game for us and then I saw (the focus) this morning when I came to the rink. From the morning skate, the guys were on. Seems like the guys were ready for it and they wanted to have a strong night.”

Have a strong night, they did. The team won 64% of the face-offs, with Bo Horvat leading the way, winning 12/15 draws, good for 80% on the night.

Palmieri and Nelson’s connection really is special. More on that tomorrow after both spoke with NYI Hockey Now about how their connection started long before their time with the Islanders.

Negatives:

Nah, I’m just kidding. It really was a very strong game. Not much in the negative column.

If you want to get nit-picky, the Isaiah George penalty to open the third went directly against what Roy warned about not even 12 hours prior. Neighbours scoring 10 seconds into the power play made it worse.

The penalty kill at home is a huge problem. They’re just 7-for-16 on home ice this year, which is roughly 43%. That’s simply not good enough, but pure logic would tell you that’ll have to regress at some point.

More Positives:

Very quietly, Dennis Cholowski has grown in confidence and reliability. He played 14:39 tonight, generated some looks at 5v5, and was on the power play with four attempted shots, with two getting through on the net. His stability is going to be hugely important for the Islanders. There was one hair shift in the second period, but he was caught out there with the Islanders’ fourth forward line, and that’s typically not going to end well.

When Adam Pelech returns, it seems far more likely to me that the team will send Isaiah George back down to Bridgeport to keep his development steady and let Cholowski get a chance to keep his chemistry up with Mayfield. The two have generally worked well together, and Roy has constantly shown throughout his tenure he doesn’t like to split up lines or pairs that he likes.

Best Thing That Happened Today:

The Islanders hosted Hockey Fights Cancer Night tonight, and well, the best story of the game courtesy of this special occasion. It’s worth the quick read and will end your night with a smile, guaranteed:

https://x.com/Shannon_Hogan/status/1860529345002975631