Islanders have winning streak snapped at six in shutout loss to Kings
Islanders right wing Hudson Fasching (20) shoots a wraparound shot as Los Angeles Kings goaltender David Rittich (31) and defenseman Andreas Englund (5) defend during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, March 11, 2024. Credit: AP/Alex Gallardo
LOS ANGELES — This one is not likely to put a dent in the Islanders’ newfound confidence.
The Kings snapped the Islanders’ season-high six-game winning streak, 3-0, on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena in the penultimate match of their four-game road trip.
At times, the Islanders looked like a team playing on the back end of a back-to-back and struggling to generate offense, not doing much with an 0-for-5 power play. At times, the Kings very much dictated the pace and style of play. Overall, though, there was a playoff-like toughness to the affair.
“It was a hard-fought game,” said Patrick Roy, now 11-6-3 as the Islanders' coach. “I was very happy with the way we played. A tight game, there was not much room out there. That was playoff hockey. If our power play would have clicked, maybe it would have made a difference.”
The Islanders (29-21-14) missed a chance to move past the Flyers into third place in the Metropolitan Division and fell out of the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, though they and the Red Wings have 72 points. The trip ends Thursday night against the Sabres, on the fringe of the playoff chase.
“It’s a great opportunity to reset,” Anders Lee said. “We didn’t play our best tonight and there’s a reason why we didn’t win the hockey game. So let’s get back to what we were doing. We felt like we were in this game the whole time, down one going into the third.”
Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves, but Phillip Danault got around defenseman Noah Dobson to the crease and banked a shot in off the goalie’s stick to make it 2-0 at 6:07 of the third period. Trevor Moore added an empty-netter with 2:22 to play.
David Rittich stopped 26 shots for his second shutout this season, half of them in the third period. The Islanders managed only five man-advantage shots against the NHL’s top-ranked penalty kill.
“When the puck is not moving as well as we wish on the power play, we need to do things a little different and put more traffic in front of the net,” Roy said.
The Kings (33-20-11), in third place in the Pacific Division, represented a significant step up in competition after the Islanders beat the Sharks, 7-2, on Thursday and the Ducks, 6-1, on Sunday. Neither will make the playoffs.
According to team statistician Eric Hornick, it was the first time the Islanders had won consecutive road games by at least five goals since March 1988 and the first time the Islanders had scored at least six goals in consecutive road games since March 2003.
The Islanders still have outscored their last seven opponents by an aggregate 30-14, though they were shut out for the second time under Roy.
“They play a little different style,” Brock Nelson said. “Pretty tight through the neutral zone and they break out well. We didn’t generate as much offense. But we found ourselves in a good game. We just couldn’t get that one to get more momentum.”
The Kings finally broke through in the second period as the Islanders struggled with their passing. Adrian Kempe beat Sorokin from the right circle on a transition rush at 7:14 of the period after Rittich stopped Hudson Fasching’s odd-man rush chance off Kyle MacLean’s feed. It marked the first time the Islanders had trailed on the trip.
“Definitely doesn’t feel good for the momentum,” said Fasching, who was in the Islanders’ lineup for the first time since Jan. 25 after a lower-body injury. “Definitely wish I could have had that one. I had a good look at it. But it’s part of the game and we’ve got to try find a way to be resilient.”
The Islanders had a solid chance to take a first-period lead when Moore followed Kempe to the penalty box at 12:46, giving the Islanders a five-on-three advantage for 52 seconds. But Mathew Barzal was called for a questionable slashing penalty on Drew Doughty as the defenseman lay on the puck in front of the net at 12:58.
So the winning streak is over, but the mindset remains the same. The players cite four intense, fundamental-based practices from Feb. 14-17 as a turning point.
“We had a refocus there the week before the outdoor game,” Cal Clutterbuck said. “It clicked our minds into being prepared and it took a little while to get the results going.”
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
