3 Takeaways: Gutsy Effort Leads Isles Past Sens 5-3

The New York Islanders were outmanned, but not outgunned on Friday night, skating to a 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators in a gutsy performance at Canadian Tire Centre.

Despite losing two defensemen – Adam Pelech and Sebastian Aho – in the opening four minutes of Friday’s game, the Islanders dug deep and extended their winning streak to three games and their point streak to five games.

Kyle Palmieri (1G, 1A), Oliver Wahlstrom (1G, 1A), Mathew Barzal, Anders Lee and Simon Holmstrom scored for the Islanders, while Brock Nelson and Alexander Romanov each had a pair of assists. Drake Batherson scored a pair of goals for the Senators, while Tim Stuzle (1G, 1A) and Mathieu Joseph (2A) each had two-point games.

Semyon Varlamov stopped 28-of-31 in his first win since Nov. 2, while Anton Forsberg stopped 21 of 26 in the loss.

“When we weren't winning I said we were playing well and we felt as though the wins would start coming if we continued to play well,” Head Coach Lane Lambert said. “The challenge was not to get discouraged. And I thought our guys did a great job of that. They played hard every game and I thought tonight was no exception.”

DEFENSEMEN DIG DEEP SHORTHANDED:

The Islanders found themselves down two defensemen early in Friday’s game, as both Adam Pelech and Sebastian Aho exited the game in the opening four minutes.

Pelech appeared to suffer an upper-body injury after being hit by Drake Batherson into the end boards two and a half minutes into the contest. Aho was hit by Rourke Chartier shortly after, sliding into the boards hard before heading back to the room just over three minutes into the game.

That meant big minutes for the Islanders four remaining defenseman, who carried the load for their injured teammates. Noah Dobson led the way with a career-high 31:05 TOI, shattering his previous high of 27:42 – set earlier this season also against Ottawa. Dobson’s 31:05 also marked the highest of any Islanders player since Andrew MacDonald logged 31:22 on Jan. 31, 2013.

“I guess that's why you work hard in the summer for situations like that,” Dobson said.

Alexander Romanov also logged 30 minutes for the first time in his career, skating 30:02. According to Islanders radio’s Greg Picker, Friday was the first time since Nov. 12, 2002 that two Islanders played over 30 minutes in a regulation game (Adrian Aucoin and Roman Hamrlik).

Ryan Pulock logged 28:47 in the win, while Scott Mayfield skated 26:19 as all four blueliners played a season high.

“It was an incredible effort,” Lambert said. “We knew real early on in the game, what we were up against… They tried to keep it as simple as possible and manage their ice time as much as possible. I thought [Assistant Coach] Doug Houda did a good job of making sure that they kept their shifts short as possible as well. It was an incredible effort by the four of them.”

Lambert did not have an update on Pelech or Aho’s status, but acknowledged the challenge of playing a back-to-back on Saturday when the Isles host the Philadelphia Flyers.

THE CHALLENGE THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING:

Tied 1-1 in the second period, the Senators appeared to take the lead on a Parker Kelly one-timer six-and-a-half minutes in, but the Islanders were successfully able to challenge and overturn the goal on an offside zone entry by Vladimir Tarasenko.

The challenge paid dividends immediately, as Oliver Wahlstrom was able to deflect Romanov’s point shot past Forsberg to instead give the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 6:32, coincidently the same time as Kelly’s overturned marker.

From there, things got silly.

Mathew Barzal wristed home a power-play goal at the 9:57 mark to give the Isles a 3-1 lead and off the ensuing face-off, Wahlstrom fed Anders Lee on a two-on-one, with the captain snapping it stick side on Forsberg. The goals came six seconds apart, which tied a team record for the fastest two goals scored on a goaltender – a feat not matched since Oct. 27, 1979 and again dug up by Isles radio’s Greg Picker.

That had the Isles up 4-1 and seemingly in control of the game, but the pesky Sens did not go quietly.

Mathieu Joseph won a battle down low and fed Tim Stutzle in front for a one-timer at the 10:56 mark to trim the Isles lead to 4-2. The Sens scored less than a minute later, again winning a battle down low, with Joseph feeding Stutzle, who touched the puck over to Batherson for his second of the game at 11:43.

Lambert promptly called his timeout to settle his team down, a second move that paid dividends as the Isles were able to halt the Sens momentum. The coach also credited his captain for helping lead the way.

“I really felt like [Anders] led the team tonight,” Lambert said. “Especially after the defenseman went down, I thought he really took it on his shoulders in terms of his effort level and it's good to see that line get rewarded.”

ISLES TIGHTEN UP IN THIRD PERIOD:

Third periods had not been kind to the Islanders this month, as they’d allowed 16 third period goals over the past nine games.

On Friday night, the Isles got the stop they needed in the third, holding the charging Senators off the scoresheet in the final frame. It marked the first time since Nov. 2 they’d kept a clean sheet in the final frame. The Isles also killed off a third period penalty in a big moment, something they’d lacked during their previous seven-game slide.

Not only did the Isles keep Ottawa off the board, they padded their lead with a key goal. It came via a fortunate break, with Noah Dobson’s point shot pinballing off Vladimir Tarasenko and Simon Holmstrom’s skate and in at 5:18.

While the Senators had 10 shots in the period, they did not generate a high-danger chance at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick. When they pressed with an extra attacker Varlamov came up with his save of the night, stretching across his crease to rob Stutzle.

“They only got a couple chances there five on five, which is what you want to do for a group that's been in those situations before where you can lock it down, especially playing shorthanded,” Dobson said. “We did a good job of that. Big two points.”