Islanders Slip Past Ducks 4-3 On Late Holmstrom Shorthanded Goal
Holmstrom’s late NHL-leading fourth shorthanded goal helped the New York Islanders defeat the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 at UBS Arena.
ELMONT, NY – Simon Holmstrom’s late shorthanded goal helped the New York Islanders defeat the Anaheim Ducks 4-3.
Mathew Barzal scored his tenth goal of the season and Noah Dobson recorded two assists.
Semyon Varlamov made many key saves getting the win, stopping 19 of the 22 shots he faced in a night where the puck bounced often. John Gibson stopped 30 of 34 Islanders shots in the losing effort.
8:25 into the first period, Mike Reilly crashed the net and scored on Gibson after jamming the puck home. Anaheim challenged for goaltender interference and was successful, so the game remained scoreless.
The Islanders dominated the first period as they amassed 13 shots compared to just two from the Ducks, but after twenty minutes, the scoreboard read 0-0.
It took less than a minute into the second period for the Islanders to start the scoring.
Kyle Palmieri ripped home a shot glove side on John Gibson after receiving a pass from Brock Nelson behind the net. Hudson Fasching got the play started with hard work on the forecheck and received a secondary assist for his efforts.
A terrific passing play gave the Islanders a 2-0 lead at 6:32 of the second.
Noah Dobson started the play with a terrific stretch pass to Casey Cizikas to break out of the defensive zone. After feeding Cal Clutterbuck once he crossed the Ducks’ blue line, he caught the return pass and beat Gibson blocker side from inside the left face-off dot.
Only 1:15 later, Troy Terry cut the Islander lead to 2-1 on the power play, with assists being credited to Pavel Mintyukov and Leo Carlsson.
The Ducks tied the game at 2-2 at 13:29 of the second when Adam Henrique took advantage of an odd bounce. Urho Vaakanainen took the initial shot, with Brett Leason getting the secondary assist.
New York still led big in the shot department after two periods of play but headed to third tied at 2-2 after blowing another multi-goal lead, their 14th of the season.
They led 27-to-11 after compiling 14 shots compared to the Ducks nine in the middle frame.
Three minutes into the third, Holmstrom had a wide-open net but overskated the pass through the crease from Mike Reilly. He hit the side of the net before missing wide.
The Islanders had a flurry of chances after Holmstrom’s opportunity but were unable to score. 5:07 into the period Sam Carrick skated into the offensive zone and his shot deflected off of Sam Bolduc’s stick into the back of the net. Varlamov was screened as the puck changed direction in its path on goal.
Barzal tied the game at three with a power play goal at the 7:46 mark. Horvat drew the tripping penalty and had the main assist setting up Barzal. Dobson was given the secondary and if not for his efforts leaping up to keep the puck in the zone, the play never happens.
Holmstrom scored his fourth shorthanded goal of the season to give the Islanders a 4-3 lead with only 1:33 remaining in the game. A delayed penalty was called so Holmstrom cut towards the net and roofed the puck on Gibson.
"I saw there was a forward there so I was just trying to get some speed," said Holmstrom who skated around Duck's rookie Leo Carlsson before potting the game-winner.
Varlamov made two incredible glove saves with 5.7 seconds and three seconds remaining in the game to close it out for the Islanders and secure the 4-3 victory.
UP NEXT: The Islanders host the Boston Bruins Friday night at 7:30 PM ET.
LINES:
Anders Lee -- Bo Horvat -- Mathew Barzal
Pierre Engvall -- Brock Nelson -- Kyle Palmieri
Simon Holmstrom -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Julien Gauthier
Hudson Fasching -- Casey Cizikas -- Cal Clutterbuck
Alexander Romanov -- Noah Dobson
Samuel Bolduc-- Robert Bortuzzo
Mike Reilly -- Sebastian Aho
Semyon Varlamov
Ilya Sorokin