Islanders finally get first win at UBS Arena, beating Devils
Any and all jokes about "Fort Neverwin" can finally be put aside.
The Islanders got their first-ever win in their eighth game at the $1.1 billion UBS Arena on Saturday night, topping the Devils, 4-2, with two goals from ex-Devils. They finally were able to salute the crowd from center ice after the final buzzer.
Centers Casey Cizikas and Brock Nelson returned to the lineup, leaving injured defenseman Ryan Pulock (lower body) as the only unavailable Islander. Nelson missed seven games with a lower-body injury while Cizikas became the eighth — and, so far, last — Islander to test positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 27. He missed five games.
"I think, No. 1, is let’s get back to a personal identity of what has made players successful," coach Barry Trotz said before the game. "Be it Casey, the identity line. They haven’t had quite the impact that they’ve had in the past. So, let’s, individually, get back. I can go up and down the lineup. Get back to your personal identity within the group so we can get back to our group identity."
The Islanders (7-11-5) improved to 1-5-2 at UBS Arena, which replaced venerable Nassau Coliseum. That barn had been affectionately nicknamed "Fort Neverlose."
Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves, keeping the Islanders’ deficit at one goal by turning aside Andreas Johnsson’s breakaway at 2:32 of the second period. He followed with 13 saves in the third period.
The Devils (10-11-5), now in a 3-8-3 skid, placed captain Nico Hischier and defenseman Ryan Graves into COVID-19 protocol before the game. Goalie Akira Schmid, 21, fourth on the organizational depth chart, was making his NHL debut.
Schmid allowed two goals on seven shots in the second period, both coming from ex-Devils.
Light-shooting defenseman Andy Greene connected on an unscreened wrist shot from the right to tie it at 2 at 8:33. It was Greene’s first goal in 33 games and the 51st he’s scored in 1,007 career games, the first 923 with the Devils.
Then, Zach Parise, with his first goal as an Islander, made it 3-2 on a shorthanded breakaway at 16:33 after being sprung by Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Saturday would have been the 80th birthday of his late father, former Islander J.P. Parise.
"It’s always a great feeling scoring," Parise told MSG Networks after the second period. "The looks have been there for the most part, they just haven’t been coming."
Oliver Wahlstrom’s forechecking set up Pageau’s one-timer for a more comfortable two-goal lead at 9:37 of the third period.
The Islanders didn’t get their first shot on the Swiss-born Schmid (25 saves), who only has 10 games of AHL experience, until 9:14 of the first period when he stopped captain Anders Lee’s tip-in at the crease.
The Devils took a 1-0 lead at 17:01 of the first period as defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler sprung Jesper Bratt up ice to beat Sorokin through his pads after Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield turned the puck over in the offensive zone.
That started a flurry of three goals within one minute, 24 seconds. Noah Dobson’s power-play goal at 17:45 after Tomas Tatar cross-checked Mathew Barzal tied it at 1. But Jack Hughes connected from the left circle past Sorokin’s glove after the Islanders failed to navigate the neutral zone, with the goalie having a perfect view of the shot.
Dobson was sent sprawling to the ice by a high elbow from Mason Geersten at 6:30 of the first period, with Zdeno Chara fighting to defend his defense partner for a second straight game. Geersten drew a two-minute minor for an illegal check to the head rather than a five-minute major.
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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