3 Takeaways: Islanders Close Trip with 6-3 Loss to Sabres

The New York Islanders four-game road trip ended on a losing note, as the Isles dropped a 6-3 decision to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night at KeyBank Center.
Kyle Palmieri scored twice and Anders Lee added a tally for the Islanders, who were playing catchup with the Sabres all game long. Victor Olofsson broke a 3-3 tie with 2:55 to play in the third period, before adding the Sabres' second empty-netter for good measure. Dylan Cozens had a game-high three assists, while Alex Tuch (1G, 1A), Tage Thompson, Kyle Okposo, and Henri Jokiharju (ENG) all found the back of the net for the Sabres.

The loss marked the Islanders third-straight regulation defeat, falling to 1-3-0 on their four-game road trip. The Islanders are 3-7-0 in their last 10 games.
"It was one of those games where we found ourselves behind and having to keep coming back, tying it up and tying it up," Lee said. "When we had a chance to win, these are games that we have to start having. These are moments that we have to start being successful in. That's how we're going to have to start to be able to dig out of this. If this keeps happening we're going to be looking on the wrong side."

NEGATIVE TRENDS CONTINUE FOR ISLANDERS:

Ahead of Tuesday's game, the Islanders talked about chasing games and the need to get on the board first. But for the ninth time in the last 10 games, the Islanders allowed the opening goal of the contest, as Okposo redirected a Casey Fitzgerald feed at the side of the net at 10:53.
That put the Islanders in chase mode, but not for long, as Palmieri tied the score 1-1 with his second goal of the season just 1:13 later.
The Islanders found themselves down again early in the second period after giving up a shorthanded goal to the Sabres. It was a whacky sequence, as the Sabres retained possession in the Islanders' zone after Thompson and Cozens collided. Thompson then spun off three Islanders, dished to Cozens for a one-timer and crashed the net for the 2-1 marker at 1:36
SABRES 6, ISLES 3
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The goal was the Sabres' third shorthanded goal and the sixth the Islanders had allowed. New York again was able to find a tying goal, as Lee cleaned up a Zdeno Chara rebound for the captain's 13th goal of the season at 7:11.
After allowing the first goal and a shorthanded goal, another recent trend reared its head for the Isles, who allowed a goal in the final minute of the period for the fourth time since Jan. 22. This one came courtesy of Tuch, who deflected a Peyton Krebs shot past Sorokin with one second to play in the period.
"It takes the momentum of the moment and the period, but I don't think it takes the wind out of us," Lee said. "I know we came out in the third knowing what had to do and that fire was there. It's frustrating that it happens, but it doesn't knock you down where you don't feel like you can come back and win the game."
The Islanders outshot the Sabres 7-1 to start the period and Palmieri eventually tied the score with his second goal of the game at 9:56 of the third period, but the Islanders couldn't pull ahead, as Olofsson was left undetected at the right dot, took a pass from Krebs and snuck a shot through Sorokin.
Skating with the extra attacker the Islanders looked for a late tie, but Jokiharju hit a bulls eye from the Sabres' zone for the first of two empty-netters at 18:55. Olofsson rounded out the scoresheet with 26 seconds to play.

PALMIERI LIGHTS THE LAMP:

The first half of the season hadn't exactly gone the way Kyle Palmieri had envisioned it.
The Islanders winger, fresh off signing a four-year contract in the offseason, was stuck on one goal in his first 29 games, while a mix of injuries, healthy scratches and the birth of his child (an absence for a great reason) combined to cost him another 14.
Head Coach Barry Trotz could tell his winger, who had scored 24-or-more goals in five-straight seasons, was playing with a burden. Upon inserting Palmieri back in the lineup after a three-game absence, Trotz told the 31-year-old to focus on a fresh start.
"I said let's get rid of that burden," Trotz said during after morning skate. "You're a good hockey player, a productive hockey player and can play with an edge… Let's see if we can get some joy back in the game."
Palmieri unburdened himself in the first period, tapping in a slick cross-ice feed from Anthony Beauvillier at the 12:06 mark. The goal was Palmieri's first since Nov. 16 against the Florida Panthers, snapping a 16-game skid. Tuesday's goal had a slightly bigger impact as well, tying the score 1-1 1:13 after the Islanders found themselves in a 1-0 hole.
"Obviously it's been a disappointing first half of the season for all of us," Palmieri said. "Individually it was time for me to hit the reset button and find a way to help my teammates win hockey games."
The new father scored a second big goal for the Islanders on Tuesday, notching the score 3-3 at the 9:56 mark. Palmieri was finally on the right end of a bounce, collecting a puck on the goal line and banking a sharp-angled shot off Dustin Tokarski's mask and in. While the Islanders weren't able to build on Palmieri's two-goal game, it was a building block for the winger, even if it didn't feel that way in the moment.
"It's great and all, but at the end of the day my job is to help this team win," Palmieri said. "We didn't bring our best effort tonight and we knew how big of a game this was for us. Every game is huge for us moving forward to try and climb back in this playoff race."

LINEUP CHANGES:

Kyle Palmieri returned to the lineup after missing the past three games, the first due to the birth of a child and the second two as a healthy scratch.
Ross Johnston came out of the lineup to accommodate Palmieri's return. That caused Trotz to revert to some familiar lines, as the Identity Line was reunited, while Josh Bailey returned to a line with Mathew Barzal and Anders Lee.
"We got two goals out of Palmieri's line. Barzal's line actually had one with Lee off the faceoff," Trotz said. "I didn't mind the lines. Casey's line was back to their identity. They were fine. We just didn't get the result again. That's the frustrating thing."
Sebastian Aho also drew into the lineup for the first time since Dec. 19 against Vegas, replacing Andy Greene. Trotz said he wanted to try add some more offense to the back end with Aho and felt that the veteran Greene could use some rest after the game against Calgary on Saturday.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders return home to take on the Boston Bruins on Thursday night at UBS Arena, the first of two straight at home. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.