If Islanders stay out of penalty box, they can stay in the win column

OTTAWA, Ontario — It’s a simple analysis, really.

If the Islanders kill off penalties — and not take too many — while playing competitive hockey in the third period, they’ll continue to win games.

Right now, it’s two in a row for the Islanders (7-6-5), who will face the Senators on Friday night at Canadian Tire Centre before Saturday night’s rematch with the Flyers at UBS Arena. This follows an 0-4-3 skid that often was the antithesis of how they needed to play.

The Islanders beat the visiting Flyers, 3-2, on Wednesday night, killing off their only power-play chance. Each team scored once in the third period without the Islanders ever trailing.

“We knew, right from the start, it was going to be a battle around both net fronts,” coach Lane Lambert said. “I thought we did a pretty decent job.

“I thought our discipline was good. It’s important to stay out of the box; it doesn’t matter what kind of night it is or who you’re playing. Unnecessary penalties don’t help. We’ve seen that rear its ugly head a little bit and I thought we did a good job of discipline.”

Examples include the Kraken going 3-for-4 on the power play in their 4-3, eight-round shootout win on Nov. 16 in the road trip’s penultimate game, and the Canucks’ 3-for-6 power play in their 4-3 overtime win the night before. The trip started with the Oilers going 2-for-3 on the power play in a 4-1 win on Nov. 13.

Before the win over the Flyers, the Islanders had been outscored 18-5 in the third periods of their previous 10 games.

“It was cleaner for sure, which is a focus,” Brock Nelson said. “You want to stay out of the box. Power plays are dangerous. If you can limit that, it will be in our favor.”

Nelson gave the Islanders a 3-1 lead over the Flyers with his second goal of the game — and 10th of the season — at 2:33 of the third period. That allowed the Islanders to withstand Joel Farabee’s tally at 15:56.

“It didn’t really feel like it broke us at all,” Nelson said. “Not that it has before. We wanted to get on the attack and be aggressive and still play smart at the same time. To get that third one was nice to get a little cushion.”

The Islanders also were aggressive with their forecheck against the Flyers, not just in the third period. It allowed them to go through sustained possessions in the offensive zone, and a lot of their third-period struggles stemmed from being caught in their own zone too often.

So that too is something that must continue.

“I think on the trip we had a little bit more of a sustained forecheck,” Lambert said. “I think our first forechecker was getting in and he has to do that in order for the other two guys to read off of him. I think we’ve done a much better job of that.”

Simple analysis, really. Wins come from executing it.

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.