3 Takeaways: Islanders Comeback Falls Short in 3-2 Loss to Kings

The New York Islanders dug themselves into a 3-0 hole and despite a comeback bid, could not dig their way out, in a 3-2 loss to the LA Kings on Friday night at UBS Arena.
Noah Dobson (PPG) and Adam Pelech scored for the Islanders, but Phillip Danault, Arthur Kaliyev and Gabriel Vilardi scored three goals in a 5:34 span of the second period to build what proved to be an insurmountable lead for LA.

Ilya Sorokin stopped 25 of 28 shots in the loss, snapping his personal three-game winning streak, while Jonathan Quick stopped 16-of-18 in the win.
The loss snapped the Islanders' two-game winning streak.

SECOND PERIOD SINKS ISLES:

Hudson Fasching described the first period between the Islanders and Kings as a chess match, a feeling out process between the two teams who had yet to play each other 60 games into the season. That was a scoreless session, with the Kings outshooting the Isles 12-5.
The second period started off with a similar shot total, with LA outshooting the Isles 12-3 in the first 12:14, except in this instance, the Kings opened up a 3-0 lead. Alex Romanov wound up deflecting the opening tally, which was credited to Phillip Danault at 6:40. Arthur Kaliyev made it 2-0 at the 8:05 mark, burying on a two-on-one rush, while Gabriel Vilardi made it 3-0 with a fluttering one-timer at 12:14.
KINGS 3, ISLANDERS 2
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ISLES-KINGS VIDEO
Full Highlights
Postgame: Lambert
Postgame: Martin
Postgame: Palmieri
Postgame: Dobson
KINGER'S CALLS
Nelson's PPG
Pelech Scores
All told, the Kings had three goals in the span it took the Islanders to generate three shots on goal.
"We've had a few moments like throughout the course of the season where a team scores a goal and we allowed the momentum swing to be too big and we got to respond right after that a little better," Martin said.
Noah Dobson's power-play goal - a blast from the point through traffic - put the Islanders on the board with 3:26 to play in the second period, giving a glimmer of hope to an Isles team who had outscored opponents 7-0 in their last four third periods.
Make that 8-0 after Adam Pelech made it a game with 4:37 to play, skating down the right side before putting a centering feed on net that caromed off Matt Roy's skate and past Jonathan Quick. The goal was Pelech's first in 18 games, but the number 18 loomed large for the Islanders, as it was the total number of shots they generated in the contest. Eighteen shots accounted for the third-fewest the Islanders generated this season, which Head Coach Lane Lambert put down to the Islanders not being able to establish an effective forecheck.
"If we would have put our dump-ins into better areas we would have a better chance of getting it back," Lambert said. "Their goaltender saw quite a bit and he plays the puck very well. We just didn't establish enough forecheck, which didn't give us enough o-zone time. That was a difference in the game for me."

STANDINGS IMPLICATIONS:

While the loss did not cost the Islanders (67 points, 62 games played) their spot in the first wild card in the Eastern Conference, they did lose a bit of their cushion, as the Buffalo Sabres (64 points, 57 games played) beat the Florida Panthers 3-1 in regulation to jump into the second wild card and close the gap in the standings.
The Sabres, Detroit Red Wings (64 points, 57 games played) and Florida Panthers (64 points, 61 games played) are three points back of the Isles. The Penguins (63 points, 57 games played) are four points of the Isles with five games in hand.
The Islanders have two games against the Sabres and one game against the Red Wings remaining on the schedule.

MATT MARTIN TIES CAREER HIGH IN POINTS, SETS NEW CAREER-LONG STREAK:

Matt Martin has been piling up the points of late, establishing a new career long four-game point streak.
Martin, who has played the past two-and-a-half games on a line with Bo Horvat and Anders Lee, has four points (1G, 3A) over that span, picking up an assist on Adam Pelech's goal on Friday night. The physical forward also had the Islanders best chance in the first half of the game, redirecting a centering feed from Horvat that forced Quick to stretch out and side across his net to save. Martin is up to six points (2G, 4A) in his last seven games.
The assist on Friday also marked Martin's 19th point of the season, which tied his career-high, set during the 2015-16 season.
"It's not something I really focus on to be honest with you," Martin said of tying his career-high. "I try to play the game the same way every night and obviously I've been getting some opportunities and capitalizing on some chances, so that's good. Always like to get in on the offense, but obviously it'd be a lot better if we were came away with two points tonight."

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders head out on a two-game Western Conference road trip starting on Sunday afternoon in Winnipeg. Puck drop is at 3:30 eastern.