Islanders fall to Avalanche, end road trip 0-4
Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov stops a shot against the Colorado Avalanche in the first period on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020 in Denver. Credit: AP/David Zalubowski
DENVER — Goalie Semyon Varlamov’s return to Colorado was not a happy homecoming. The Islanders can only hope returning to New York cures their scoring woes.
The Islanders were nearly shut out for the third time on a four-game Western road trip, losing 3-1 to the Avalanche on Wednesday night at Pepsi Center. In all, they have two goals in their last 12 periods with Monday’s NHL trade deadline looming their playoff positioning becoming precarious.
“You can let it get into your head, you can let it bring you down or you can let it fuel you,” captain Anders Lee said. “I don’t think any of this tough stretch right here is going to be the one that knocks us down.”
The Islanders (33-20-6) are in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division, one point behind the third-place Flyers. They could be clinging to the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference by the time they face the Red Wings on Friday night at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum.
The Islanders, already thin at center with Casey Cizikas (left leg laceration), missing the road trip, lost Derick Brassard at 14:50 of the first period after defenseman Ryan Pulock’s wrist shot hit him in the head. Coach Barry Trotz, who began juggling his line combinations even before losing Brassard, had no immediate update on him after the game.
“It’s tough to come out on this trip and not get anything out of it,” said Brock Nelson, who scored the Islanders’ lone goal at 17:46 of the third period with Varlamov off for an extra skater. “But it’s a long year. We had that run earlier [a franchise-record 15-0-2 from Oct. 12 to Nov. 23] where everything was going our way and we were finding ways to win. Right now, it just seems like we can’t get over that hump or get that break to get by.”
Varlamov made 26 saves after spending the previous eight seasons with the Avalanche before signing a four-year, $20 million deal with the Islanders. Varlamov’s first game against his former team resulted in a 1-0 win for the Islanders on Jan. 6 at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum as he made 32 saves for his second shutout this season.
Pavel Francouz stopped 27 shots for the Avalanche (34-18-7), missing No. 1 goalie Philipp Grubauer (lower body), as well as regulars Mikko Rantanen (upper body), Nazem Kadri (lower body) and Matt Calvert (lower body).
“They’ve got a great team,” Josh Bailey said. “With it being a couple in a row now, it stings but the season is far from over. You’ve got to have the right mindset as a group and we will.”
Varlamov was honored with a tribute video during a stoppage at 11:10 of the first, lifting his stick to salute the crowd’s ovation.
By then, he had already faced 14 shots with the Islanders trailing 1-0. Joonas Donskoi deflected Calder Trophy candidate Cale Makar’s shot from the blue line at 9:07 as he set the Avalanche franchise record for rookie defensemen with his 32nd assist.
“They jumped on us early,” Trotz said. “They came out with a better purpose at home. I thought Varly kept us in the game in the first and our game settled down in the second and third. But it’s not coming easy for us.”
Andre Burakovsky’s wrister over Varlamov’s glove from between the faceoff circles made it 2-0 just 45 seconds into the second period. Gabriel Landeskog extended that to 3-0 at 7:43 of the third period after the Islanders had an apparent goal waved off at 6:18 with Nelson crashing into Francouz.
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.
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