The Islanders are facing an uphill struggle in the postseason race, but they received a breath of fresh air on Friday night.
With fewer than three minutes remaining in the third period, Zach Parise scored and the Islanders upset the Penguins 5-4 at UBS Arena to stop a three-game losing streak.
The arithmetic is still against them, mostly because Pittsburgh has four games in hand, but the Islanders won the first game of a weekend home-and-home series with the Penguins. The Islanders also leapfrogged the Caps and Panthers for the second wild-card place and equaled the Penguins in terms of points for the top wild-card spot.
Because to the NHL’s loser point system, the Islanders are now on a three-game point streak despite their overtime and shootout losses to the Canadiens and Senators. Such is the volatility of momentum in a postseason race.
The Islanders entered the third period trailing 4-3 and were fortunate to be so close after having played a fairly lifeless first period. But, a trip call against Pittsburgh’s Pierre-Olivier Joseph provided the Islanders with the opportunity they required. Brock Nelson, who finished with two goals and an assist on Zach Parise’s game-winning goal, blasted a one-timer on the power play to level the game at 4-4 with 5:01 remaining in the third period, and the Islanders’ lackluster play in the first period became irrelevant.
Brock Nelson, to the right, celebrates his third period goal.
Getty Pictures
Then, with 2 minutes and 43 seconds remaining, Parise sent a puck to the back door. It was deflected off the stick of the Penguins’ Bryan Rust and into the back of the net, igniting UBS Arena, whose supporters had jeered the Islanders less than an hour ago.
Given how the game appeared at the midpoint and the fact that the Penguins outshot the Islanders 45-28, it’s almost shocking that the Islanders were still in the game. But, the Islanders’ performance was a throwback to the beginning of the season, when tenacity was their calling card, and it arrived at the perfect time.
Despite having two days of rest between games, the Islanders started slowly. Sidney Crosby scored a rebound 12 minutes into the game, after the Penguins had spent time in the Islanders’ zone. 3:56 later, though, Anders Lee played his own rebound off the body of Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith to tie the game.
After being outshot 18-8 in the first period, the Islanders appeared even worse at the start of the second. Within 5:35, Rickard Rakell and Jason Zucker scored for Pittsburgh to make the score 3-1, leading Islanders head coach Lane Lambert to request a timeout.
Nelson sped up the ice on a rush at 14:25 to generate a wraparound opportunity and score after it took the Islanders nearly 10 minutes to regain their vigor. Rakell scored again off a Crosby feed at 18:57, but before the second period started, Lee got it back for the Islanders with a redirect from Mathew Barzal.
The Islanders can only hope that the third period galvanizes them for a good finish to the season.
Six teams, including the Penguins, Capitals, Panthers, Islanders, Red Wings, and Sabres, have a shot at the two wild-card positions. The Islanders may surpass the Penguins in the standings by Monday evening, but the Penguins have four games in hand. That is up to an eight-point buffer if the Penguins win all of their remaining games, which is not a certainty but is sufficient for increased comfort.
The red-hot Red Wings trail the Islanders by three points with four games in hand, while the Sabres trail by five points with five games in hand. Only the Panthers and Capitals, who have played 58 and 57 games respectively and have 62 points, do not hold this advantage over the Islanders.
In spite of gaining ground on the Penguins, the Islanders are currently chasing Washington and Florida. Against every other team, they may require assistance.
Friday however, they eventually assisted themselves.
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