Islanders fall short against high-powered Winnipeg
The Islanders' Alexander Romanov and Tony DeAngelo defend against the Winnipeg Jets' Mark Scheifele during second-period NHL action in Winnipeg on Friday. Credit: AP/John Woods
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — There’s a reason why the Jets are atop the NHL standings. Actually, a myriad of them.
They brushed aside a first-period deficit with a three-goal second period and withstood a 19-shot barrage in the third period for a 4-3 win over the Islanders on Friday night at Canada Life Centre.
“A great team,” Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin told Newsday after making 23 saves but being bettered by Vezina Trophy favorite Connor Hellebuyck’s 32 stops. “Great offense. They always create moments and play good with the puck.”
Sorokin is expected to start again as the Islanders (25-22-7) conclude this two-game trip on Saturday night against the Wild in another tough matchup before a two-week break for the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament.
The Islanders’ desperate need for points in the Eastern Conference wild-card race is magnified as they head into their hiatus. A one-goal loss to the NHL leaders, no matter how well they played in the first and third periods, left few good feelings.
“Not a whole lot,” Kyle Palmieri told Newsday after getting to the crease and bringing the Islanders within 4-3 at 11:07 of the third period. “Either way, win or lose, we reset. One game before the break, so we just get ourselves ready.”
The Islanders still have won 11 of their last 15 games, but the Jets (39-14-3) are on a 12-2-1 run, have won 22 of 30 home games and improved to 30-0-1 when leading after two periods.
They also killed off three Islanders power plays in the third period. The last one, after Palmieri’s goal, generated seven shots.
“I thought everybody played a good game,” coach Patrick Roy said. “The first period was really good. The third period was really good. In the second period, we missed a couple of coverages.”
Roy was miffed that no icing was called just before Nikolaj Ehlers’ goal that gave the Jets a 3-2 lead at 14:50 of the second period. Roy felt defenseman Neal Pionk sent the puck down the ice from his side of the red line.
“Sometimes the game is a question of inches,” Roy said. “Like the third goal, to me, should have been an icing call. He was well before the red line when he dumped it in and then they score right away. Calls like this sometimes make a difference.”
Gabe Vilardi scored the first of his two goals — his top line with Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor were too much for the Islanders in the second period — as he took Connor’s feed to the crease at 4:23 to tie it at 2-2. Vilardi was left open in the slot and lifted a wrister at 18:18 for a 4-2 edge.
However, the Jets’ top-ranked power play went 0-for-2, with both chances in the second period.
“I think we did a lot of good things tonight,” Bo Horvat said. “That’s a good team over there. There’s a reason they’re on top of the standings. But at the end of the day, we just didn’t get the job done. Their goalie made a couple key saves at the end, but we need to be better.
“In the second, we kind of let our foot off the gas for a minute.”
The Islanders quickly matched the Jets’ fast-paced play, going ahead 1-0 at 1:05 of the first period as Simon Holmstrom took Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s feed off an odd-man rush.
Alex Iafallo muscled past Horvat to tie it at 4:27, but Marc Gatcomb’s unassisted backhander off a strong fourth-line forecheck from Kyle MacLean and Pierre Engvall regained a 2-1 lead for the Islanders at 12:07 of the first period.
Notes & quotes: The U.S. national anthem was lightly booed at its start . . . Defenseman Dennis Cholowski logged only 6:14 over nine shifts as Roy consistently skipped him in the rotation . . . Defenseman Mike Reilly (heart condition/long-term injured reserve) joined the Islanders on the road for the first time since suffering a concussion on Nov. 1. He participated in the optional morning skate and stayed on for extra work. The Islanders said it did not represent a change in his status as he remains out indefinitely. Simply, the Chicago native will have a shorter trip to be with family during the NHL hiatus after accompanying the team to Minnesota.
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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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