3 Takeaways: Islanders Beat Coyotes 5-1, Earn First Win of Trip

If the New York Islanders 5-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes was a hairstyle, you might call it a mullet.

Business in the front – a 2-0 first period lead – and a party in the back, with a trio of goals in third period – including two in under a minute – to power the Isles to a 5-1 win at Mullett Arena, the first of their current four-game road trip.

Bo Horvat (2G, 1A), Mike Reilly, Anders Lee and Julien Gauthier scored for the Islanders, while Mathew Barzal and Noah Dobson each had a pair of assists. Nick Schmaltz scored the lone goal for the Coyotes.

Ilya Sorokin stopped 26-of-27 in the win, while Connor Ingram, the NHL’s co-shutout leader, stopped 26-of-31 in the loss. In the process, the Isles swept the season series against Arizona and helped cool off the Yotes, who were 8-2-0 in their last 10 games at home – though Islanders fans made Arizona feel like UBS Arena at times.

With the win, the Islanders snap a two-game winless skid, improve to 1-1-1 on their current four-game road trip and give themselves an opportunity to finish above NHL .500 on Saturday night in Vegas.

ISLES TOP LINE LEADS OFFENSIVE OUTBURST:

The Islanders got a big night from the top line of Anders Lee, Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal, who combined for six points and factored into four of the Islanders five goals. It was a solid bounce back effort from a trio that said they weren’t pleased with their game on Tuesday night.

“Obviously the last game in Colorado was not my best, not my line's best and we needed a bounce back and I thought we did that,” Barzal said.

Horvat opened the scoring for the Islanders at 7:56 of the fist period, posting up in the bumper spot and finishing a quick dish from Noah Dobson after a face-off win. The Isles power play has now scored in two straight games after going five games without a goal.

Mike Reilly put the Isles up 2-0 at 12:02, pinching off the blue line and wristing home his third goal of the season after some nice work by Barzal and Horvat to prevent a Coyotes clearing attempt. Reilly had a game-high six shots.

After surviving a second period that saw them outshot 13-6 by the Coyotes, the Islanders went back on the attack in the third period, scoring a pair of goals 53 seconds apart to put Arizona away. Lee was opportunistic, collecting a turnover in the slot and sliding it five-hole on Ingram at 4:29, while Gauthier carried the puck from the Isles zone all the way up the ice before beating Ingram high for his fifth of the season at 5:22.

“We did not have a good second period,” Gauthier said. “We were talking in the [third] period how we need to come out strong and if we play well in our own zone we'll get an opportunity offensively. That’s what we had tonight and the third period was great for us.”

Horvat effectively iced the game with 6:55 to play, pressuring Sean Durzi into a neutral zone turnover before snapping a high wrister past the Coyotes netminder. Barzal credited the Islanders forecheck with creating Lee’s tally and Horvat’s second.

“I thought that both Bo and Barzy were skating determined,” Head Coach Lane Lambert said. “Just very solid, steady play away from the puck both of them and as a result. They had some opportunities and created some chances and got some numbers.”

SOROKIN SHARP AGAIN VS ARIZONA:

The 5-1 final betrayed Ilya Sorokin’s contribution to Thursday’s win.

The Isles netminder – who entered the game with three shutouts in his three previous wins over the Coyotes – stopped 25-of-26 shots in the victory – including all 23 he saw at even strength.

Sorokin was at his best during the second period, stopping 12-of-13 Coyotes shots during a tilted stretch for Arizona, allowing the Isles to go into the third period with a lead.

Sorokin stopped 2022 third-overall pick Logan Cooley in tight, sending him crashing over his pad. After Nick Schmaltz put Arizona on the board – finishing a cross-zone feed just as an Arizona two-man advantage expired – Sorokin came up with a big point blank stop on Nick Bjugstad at the top of the crease. Credit is also due to Samuel Bolduc, who lifted Liam O’Brien’s stick on a one-on-one chance in tight to give his goaltender a helping hand.

With the win, Sorokin improved to 4-2-0 lifetime against the Yotes and has allowed one goal or fewer in five of those six contests.

BARZAL HITS 400 POINTS:

Mathew Barzal had a nice day on Thursday.

The Islanders forward was selected to his third All-Star Game prior to puck drop and recorded his 400^th career point a few hours later.

Barzal had the primary helper on Mike Reilly’s goal to put the Islanders up 2-0 in the first period. The Islanders forward is the 17^th player in team history to record 400 points with the franchise and seventh player from the 2015 Draft class.

“It's obviously fun to be out there with him because he's always has his head up and just kind of looking for the late attacker,” Reilly said. “When he's out on the ice if there's a chance to kind of find a little bit of a soft spot.”

Barzal earned point 401 in the third period with the primary assist on Lee’s goal to make it 3-1, getting a stick in the lane of a Juuso Valimaki clearing attempt, deflecting it to the Isles captain alone in the slot. Barzal didn’t get an assist on Horvat’s second goal, but played a key role in pressuring Durzi, and stretched out to stay onside while Horvat collected the puck at the blue line.

“He's playing really well at both ends of the rink,” Horvat said. “He’s pickpocketing guys and going into transition, so there's a lot more to his game than just points and he's really showing that.”

NEXT GAME

The Islanders wrap up their four-game road trip on Saturday night when they take on the Vegas Golden Knights. Puck drop is at 10 p.m. et.