Stefen Rosner on Morning Cuppa Hockey Talking Islanders The New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/] won their second straight game, beating the Ottawa Senators 4-2 on Thursday night. In his second career NHL game, Isaiah George played 23:49 alongside Noah Dobson after he played 15:41 in his NHL debut. Semyon Varlamov shined in goal, stopping 28 of 30, while Oliver Wahlstrom scored his first goal of the season. Here’s how it happened: The Islanders wasted no time testing Senators goalie Anton Forsberg, with Simon Holmstrom getting an especially strong chance off a one-timer from the slot. At 7:14 of the first, Noah Gregor high-sticked Kyle Palmieri—who was already wearing a full cage—and the Islanders got their first-man advantage. However, New York failed to establish themselves in the offensive zone and didn’t manage a shot on goal. Ottawa got a power play of their own after Grant Hutton was called for holding against Zack MacEwen at 11:11. The Islanders continued their road success on the penalty kill with strong clearing efforts from J.G. Pageau and Casey Cizikas. The Islanders received another power play after Jake Sanderson high-sticked Scott Mayfield with 3:56 left, but Holmstrom negated the opportunity after tripping Nick Jensen. Neither team could convert during the 4-on-4, though Thomas Chabot just missed short-side on Varlamov after getting in tight. The Islanders and Senators capped off the period scoreless, with New York holding the shot advantage at 8-5. After making his NHL debut on Thursday, Isaiah George was paired with Noah Dobson and played in front of friends and family. George looked comfortable in the elevated role and excelled with outlet passes. The middle frame set a breakneck pace, with Holmstrom stealing the puck at the blue line and forcing Forsberg to make a strong save. On the other end, Varlamov had to make two big stops on Senators forwards around the net. Following a quick zone entry, Adam Gaudette came off the bench and rang the iron above Varlamov’s shoulder. A few minutes later, Varlamov stretched his left pad to deny Drake Batherson at the post after the forward made a power move to beat Mayfield. After the halfway mark, Tim Stutzle found himself alone on a breakaway before Grant Hutton stick-checked the puck away. With under 5 minutes left, Ryan Pulock, who played in his 500th game with the Islanders, successfully pinched twice at the blue line. The puck eventually found its way below the goal line to Bo Horvat, who fed it to Anders Lee in the slot. Lee made no mistake on the one-timer, going top shelf to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead. Horvat and Lee both extended their point streaks to four games Just 2:33 later, Pageau got on a breakaway after passes from Horvat and Lee. The Ottawa native and former Senator roofed it over Forsberg, extending the Islanders’ lead to 2-0: Lee extended his point streak to four games (one goal, four assists). New York was outshot 16-12 by Ottawa in the second, but thanks to Varlamov and the new-look first line, they left with a multi-goal lead. After Matt Martin couldn't bury a chance in front, Wahlstrom scored his first goal of the season, roofing a backhander from the slot at 2:40 of the third to give the Islanders a 3-0 lead: Matt Martin and Kyle MacLean earned the assists, each recording their first points of the season. Nick Jensen ruined Valramov's shutout bid, beating the goaltender at 7:43 of the third period over the glove from inside the right circle: After Maxim Tsyplakov took a boarding penalty at 13:35 of the third, Drake Batherson made him pay. He collected the puck below the goal line before making a nifty move to pull the puck toward the top of the crease, before wrapping the rubber around Varlamov's left pad and in to make it a 3-2 game at 14:27 of the third: The Senators pulled Forsberg with around 1:35 to play in regulation, and Horvat buried on the empty net from the defensive zone to give the Islanders a 4-2 lead. UP NEXT: The Islanders host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night at 7:30 PM ET.
