ISLES CAPITALIZE IN OT:
In a game where the Islanders had plenty of quality scoring chances, their efforts paid off in overtime where Barzal's nifty performance in overtime primed Horvat’s game-winner.
Barzal intended to send a pass to Noah Dobson on a two-on-one, but it was blocked by Esa Lindell. Barzal recovered and protected the puck, threw a hit on Stankoven and fended off Lindell along the boards before working the puck to Horvat to regroup. Barzal wound up weaving through the Stars zone with the puck and eventuallyoutwaited a tired Lindell to send a timely pass to Horvat with open ice.
"That instinct of being in a desperate hockey game, having a 50/50 puck in overtime and they're down in the corner and you want to win that battle," Barzal said. "The rest was the rest was Bo doing a great job at finding that little hole that open space and great barrier by him. He's had lot of chances lately and that was a huge one for him tonight and for our team."
The Islanders did not trail throughout the entire game and found a way to continue attacking even after the Stars came back to tie it at 1-1 and 2-2. Scoring the opening goal was important for the Islanders, as they scored first in a game for the first time since Feb. 8.
Simon Holmstrom carried the puck through the neutral zone, pivoted to make a perfect pass to Ryan Pulock, who snapped a shot from the high slot at 15:59 to take a 1-0 advantage.
With the 1-0 advantage, the Islanders had a prime chance to double the lead as Brock Nelson hit the post on the power play. The Stars took advantage of a Pulock interference penalty and used the man advantage to tie the game. Thomas Harley’s shot bounced off Sorokin’s pad and right to Matt Duchene, who cashed in on a wide-open net at 7:11.
The Islanders did have several missed opportunities – going 0-for-3 on the power play including 30 seconds of a 5-on-3 – but their play at five-on-five was strong.
"I missed an open that could have made it 2-0, but they tie it up shortly after we don't capitalize on a five-on-three which could have been a huge swing," Nelson said. "But we found a way to stay with it."
The Islanders regained the lead late in the second period. After his initial shot was denied by Scott Wedgewood, Pierre Engvall chipped the puck toward MacLean, who zipped through the slot at the right time to blast a powerful slap shot through Wedgewood at 15:24 of the second period. The goal marked MacLean’s second of his career in his eighth NHL game.
With the primary assist on MacLean’s goal, Engvall finished the night with four shots on goal, one hit, one takeaway and a +2 rating in 16:20 TOI
“I thought Engvall had a super game,” Roy said.
Dallas got even again late in the second period in a goal that eventually forced overtime. In his second career NHL game, Logan Stankoven ripped a shot from the left circle at 18:57 to tie the game at two apiece while recording his first NHL goal.
Horvat’s game-winner marked his second OT goal against Dallas this season. With the win – their second 3-2 OT win over the Stars – the Islanders swept the season series 2-0-0 over Dallas , a feat the Islanders haven’t accomplished since the 2016-17 season.
