Islanders' Michael Dal Colle, Sebastian Aho score after long droughts

It had been a while for both Michael Dal Colle and defenseman Sebastian Aho.

A long while.

Both broke lengthy goal droughts as the Islanders’ three-goal third-period rally fell short in a 4-3 loss to the Flyers on Thursday night at Nassau Coliseum.

Dal Colle pulled the Islanders within 3-1 at 7:53 on a shot from the left. It marked his first goal in 32 games dating to Feb. 6, 2020 and was just his sixth shot in 17 games this season.

"A good feeling to get the monkey off the back," Dal Colle said. "You want to create scoring chances. When you’re playing with guys like Pager [Jean-Gabriel Pageau] and Nellie [Brock Nelson], you want to get in, down low, create space for them and retrieve pucks. That’s a big part of my game. I got rewarded with one opportunity tonight and hopefully I can build off of that."

Aho, remaining in the lineup with Noah Dobson missing his third straight game because of NHL COVID-19 protocols, followed with his first NHL goal since Jan. 7, 2018 — a span of 22 games — to make it 3-2 at 13:53,

"I’m just so happy to get to play games again," Aho said. "It’s always fun to score goals but, in the end, we fell short."

Schneider returns

Goalie Cory Schneider returned to the Islanders and participated in Thursday’s morning skate following a three-week leave of absence after his 14-year-old nephew, Theodore Hedstrom, died in his family’s house fire in Maine on Feb. 24.

Schneider and his wife, Jill, started a GoFundMe campaign to offset the family’s bills.

"The people who know and have gotten to know him recognize what a quality person he is," coach Barry Trotz said. "It’s a nice feel to have those people back in the family again."

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

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.