Oliver Wahlstrom's shootout winner lifts undermanned Islanders over Devils for their ninth straight victory
Oliver Wahlstrom #26 of the Islanders celebrates his game-winning shootout goal against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on March 14, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey. Credit: Getty Images/Bruce Bennett
NEWARK — Barry Trotz had no concerns about the Islanders being allowed to travel to Washington for their next game.
But the team does have COVID-19 concerns.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau was placed on the NHL’s protocol list before Sunday’s 3-2, four-round shootout win over the Devils at Prudential Center. Defenseman Noah Dobson also wound up on the list as a last-minute scratch after taking pregame warmups.
"All the protocols the NHL has in place and they do all the testing and we were informed before the game that there were some discrepancies," Trotz said. "The NHL has done a really good job of trying to keep everybody safe and going on the side of caution."
"You’re always concerned about the players," defenseman Nick Leddy said. "But the protocols are in place for a reason, and that’s to keep them and everyone on the team and staff safe. So you take it day by day and we’ll see how it goes."
Despite a makeshift lineup, the East Division-leading Islanders (19-6-4) extended their winning streak to nine games and their overall run to 11-0-1 with a three-game sweep of the slumping Devils, who lost their 11th straight at home. The Islanders will conclude this three-game road trip against the Capitals on Tuesday night.
Pageau and Dobson became the first Islanders players to miss a game this season because of COVID protocols. Josh Bailey was on the list on Jan. 20 for one day for contact-tracing reasons but did not miss a game.
"Things are so fluid now with all the protocols and the testing and things being done and precautions around the rink," said Brock Nelson, who gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead by whipping a blind shot from the right wall with 1.7 seconds left in the first period.
"When you get the news, you’ve just got to find a way to roll with it and adapt, and those guys are taking their precautions now and doing what they have to do. With the world right now and how things have gone, you’ve got to go day by day, and Barry touches on that."
The Islanders started the game one player short on the bench as defenseman Sebastian Aho, who had taken off his equipment after skating in pregame warmups, rushed to get ready for his first NHL game since March 18, 2018.
"The coaches talked about it at the beginning of the season. We’ve got to be ready for anything," said rookie left wing Kieffer Bellows, who opened the scoring at 4:18 of the first period when he deflected Aho’s shot for his third goal in two games since replacing injured captain Anders Lee on Mathew Barzal’s top line. "We’ve got to be versatile. So once a guy goes out, we have guys who are ready to go in."
Trotz had more warning that Pageau would be missing — that news came well before game time — so Austin Czarnik was promoted from the taxi squad to center the third line. Trotz also inserted pesky Leo Komarov on that line’s left wing for Michael Dal Colle, who played sparingly in the final two periods of Saturday’s 3-2 win in New Jersey.
Ilya Sorokin made 29 saves as Trotz alternated him with Semyon Varlamov for the 10th straight game. He allowed Nikita Gusev’s goal in the first round of the shootout before stopping the next three.
Anthony Beauvillier kept the shootout alive in the third round against Scott Wedgewood (32 saves) and Oliver Wahlstrom scored the deciding goal.
P.K. Subban’s apparent winner for the Devils 27 seconds into overtime was negated by video review on an offside by Jesper Bratt. The Islanders also killed off Nelson’s hooking penalty at 2:36 of overtime.
Janne Kuokkanen’s power-play goal at 5:12 of the first period tied the score at 1 and Yegor Sharangovich made it 2-2 at 16:04 of the second period.
Notes & quotes: The Islanders are 21-2-3 in the second game of back-to-backs under Trotz . . . Cal Clutterbuck was helped to the locker room at 11:16 of the second period after colliding with Miles Wood but returned for the third period.
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.
