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The New York Islanders managed to open their road trip with a win last night, defeating the Florida Panthers 3-2.
The only lineup change for the Islanders came with Matt Martin re-entering the lineup in place of Simon Holmstrom, while Semyon Varlamov got the start.
The Islanders were a little bit asleep for the first eight minutes or so, but out of nowhere, Ryan Pulock managed to get a shot through traffic from the point, opening the scoring for New York. However, after the goal was challenged for goalie interference, it was determined Kyle MacLean’s positioning at the top of the crease made contact with Anthony Stolarz, and the game remained scoreless.
It ended up costing New York, because less than 30 seconds after the goal was called off, Vladimir Tarasenko put a puck to New York’s net, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau deflected it in by accident, quickly turning the tables and putting the Islanders down.
However, despite the Islanders not getting a ton going after that, Pageau did a great job winning a race against two Panthers a little later, before dishing a pass out to Ryan Pulock, who beat Stolarz to get New York on the board for real this time. So despite it not being a great opening frame for the Islanders, managing only six shots in the period, the teams remained tied 1-1 through 20 minutes.
New York then had two power play chances early in the second frame, but when they couldn’t capitalize, Sam Reinhart found Aleksander Barkov with a nice pass, who was able to bury a backdoor tap-in after Noah Dobson couldn’t tie him up.
However, shortly after, Mathew Barzal was able to win a race and got the puck back to Noah Dobson, then went to the net to tip-in Dobson’s point shot, tying the game again. Then only two minutes after that, Jean-Gabriel Pageau was able to get to a loose puck in-close and slide it past Stolarz, and while the goal was reviewed, this time it stood and the Islanders pulled ahead the first time.
New York ended up with a power play from the unsuccessful challenge after that, and while they couldn’t convert, it was a much better period and they entered the second intermission ahead.
The Islanders did end up squandering another power play chance early in the third period, and though they did end up putting together a fairly solid frame from there, they didn’t get much going offensively and were more or less just protecting the lead. But late in the game, Sam Reinhart took a double-minor for high-sticking Cal Clutterbuck, helping New York kill a bit of time just when the Panthers were really starting to press.
While they couldn’t capitalize over the four-minute power play, it left Florida with little time to try to tie the game again from there, and the Islanders were able to hang on for the 3-2 win.
It’s a huge win for the Islanders, keeping their slim playoff chances alive by taking down a quality opponent.
After a slow opening period, the Islanders came alive a little more in the middle frame, and while they were outshot pretty badly in the third period, they did a relatively good job protecting the lead.
Semyon Varlamov had another strong performance, as he continues to be relied upon a little more down the stretch. Ilya Sorokin has struggled, allowing 19 goals over his last five games, and it’ll be interesting to see if Varlamov starts to take more of the workload in the final 10 games.
Of course, it would've been nice to see the Islanders capitalize on one of their power plays, going 0-for-6 on the man advantage and allowing Florida to hang around with all the missed opportunities. Regardless though, it’s a huge two points for New York.
Also, not only did the Islanders win, but they also caught a huge break with the teams around them in the playoff race all losing their respective games. The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the Montreal Canadiens, while the Washington Capitals fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Detroit Red Wings were shut out by the Carolina Hurricanes. As a result, the Islanders were able to make up a bit of ground, with the updated race below:
82 points, 8 games left: Philadelphia Flyers
81 points, 10 games left: Washington Capitals
79 points, 9 games left: Detroit Red Wings
77 points, 10 games left: New York Islanders
The Islanders are back in action tomorrow night for another crucial game in Florida, when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning. If they can pick up a win, they have a legitimate shot at catching up to the Flyers in the race, given the teams will come head-to-head on Monday night.
It’s still looking unlikely that New York gets in, but Thursday night’s games went as well as they possibility could have for the Islanders’ playoff chances, and they’ll need another big night in Tampa Bay on Saturday.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM MARCH
- Islanders' four-game win streak breathes life into playoff hopes
- Isles fail to pull ahead in playoff race with mixed results on road trip
- Islanders drop both games of weekend back-to-back, now on four-game skid
- Islanders’ playoff chances take another hit with 4-1 loss to Hurricanes
- Islanders fall to Red Wings for sixth straight loss
- Islanders’ playoff hopes continue to fade after splitting back-to-back set 
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