3 Takeaways: Islanders Earn Point in Overtime Loss to Sharks

The New York Islanders picked up a much-needed point on Thursday night as they fell 2-1 to the San Jose Sharks in overtime at UBS Arena. With the point, the Islanders' losing streak ended at eight games, though their winless streak reached nine games, while they improved their record to 5-10-3.

In addition to recording a point, the Islanders benefited from having Anders Lee, Josh Bailey, Andy Greene and Adam Pelech back in the lineup after being released from COVID-19 protocols.
Mathew Barzal scored the Islanders' sole goal while Ilya Sorokin made 33 saves on 35 shots.
Erik Karlsson provided the Sharks with two points with his overtime winner, while Nick Bonino scored in regulation. Adin Hill made 24 saves on 25 shots for San Jose.
"It's been a long time since we had a point, so we'll take the point," Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "It's a step in the right direction. We'll keep trying to clean up our game. We had some good pockets where we were fine and some pockets when we weren't so good. That's been a little bit of the inconsistency that plagued us before we got into the COVID trouble. Getting these veteran defensemen back like Pelech and hopefully [Zdeno] Chara back into the group that we'll get this right and hopefully take another step."

STRONG START, FINISH OFF WITH MUCH-NEEDED POINT

The Islanders got off to a fast start as Barzal scored the game's icebreaker just 1:04 into play and looked energized from the get-go, but that jump fizzled shortly after San Jose's first-period equalizer and later into the second and third periods as the two tight-checking clubs battled. Fortunately, the Islanders were able to weather a strong push by the Sharks in the second period. In doing so, they managed to send the game into overtime to earn themselves a much-needed point in the standings and morale boost after their eight-game losing skid. It wasn't a perfect performance by the group, but was one they felt they can build off.
"Sorokin was unbelievable back there, he played really well and gave us a chance all night," Greene said. "We came out with a good start and we battled hard tonight. We need to get over that hump and continue to do the right things, shift in and shift out. When we managed the puck we did pretty well tonight and when we didn't we were chasing a little bit."
In overtime, the Sharks countered after forcing the Islanders into an offensive turnover and took advantage of a two-on-one rush. Karlsson played Timo Meier in behind a back-skating Pelech. Meier missed his initial chance but spun around and returned the puck back to Karlsson for the game-winning tap-in.
In regulation, Barzal's opening goal gave the Islanders their first lead since Nov. 15 against Tampa, where their 1-0 lead lasted only 23 seconds. Barzal collected a pass from Greene, jetted up ice, carried the puck into the right faceoff circle and wired in his fifth goal of the season over Hill's glove side.

The Islanders' first-period lead against the Sharks lasted longer than it had against Tampa Bay, however, San Jose secured its equalizer at 9:10 just one second after their first power play expired. As the Islanders were assessed with a too many men penalty at 7:09 and had just killed it off, the Sharks executed a slick passing sequence where Jonathan Dahlen zipped a pass into the slot for Bonino to beat Sorokin.
The Sharks dictated the majority of the second period, but Sorokin was sharp, with 27 saves through two periods, including 15 in the middle frame, and was able to help preserve the 1-1 score to give the Islanders a fighting chance into the third.
The Islanders showcased a spirited third as they jockeyed with the Sharks for ice and weren't going to settle for anything less than a point.
"It was one of those nights where the chances were coming," Lee said. "We felt that all we needed was one more opportunity, one more puck and we were going to pop one. We didn't get that, but it's a game we can build off."

ANOTHER STRONG GAME FROM SOROKIN

SHARKS 2, ISLANDERS 1, OT
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Following a 'fantastic' 29-save performance in a 1-0 loss to Pittsburgh on Nov. 28, Sorokin returned to the pipes against the Sharks in his 14th start of the season. The Russian goalie was solid as he was "outstanding" during San Jose's flurries of chances according to Trotz and throughout the duration of the game as he primed his team for a chance to claim two points.
With the score tied 1-1 going into the second period, the Sharks turned up the intensity and received a boost in play as well as they were awarded with a couple of power play opportunities in the middle frame.
Sorokin's 33-save performance - including 15 saves in the second period - afforded his team with a real chance heading into the final period.
In the opening minutes of the second frame, Sorokin laid out to deny a series of chances from the Sharks. He stoned a promising look from Dahlen on the doorstep and made a series of power play stops including denying Noah Gregor in the low slot and smothering a one timer from the right faceoff circle taken by Alexander Barabanov. Sorokin continued to frustrate the Sharks as he made timely saves on their big guns in the final minutes of the second period denying Meier off the rush and Logan Couture in tight.
The Islanders netminder continued to be strong in the final frame, which featured a more even balance of play between teams.

LEE, BAILEY, GREENE, PELECH RETURN TO THE LINEUP

The Islanders received a significant boost in their lineup as they welcomed back Lee, Bailey, Greene and Pelech back, who all had missed the last four games (five games for Bailey) - including the home opener at UBS Arena - due to being placed in COVID-19 protocols.

The Islanders' lineup was much more complete with those four additions back. Lee and Bailey skated on a line alongside Barzal, while Greene was paired with Noah Dobson and Pelech played with Scott Mayfield.
Lee logged 15:43 ice time, took one shot and threw one hit. Bailey totaled the second-most ice time among forwards with 19:11 minutes. Greene posted an assist on Barzal's opening goal and skated for 19:55 minutes, blocked two shots and threw one hit. Pelech registered a team-high 24:14 of time on ice, posted three shots, threw three hits and had one block.
"With the guys coming back from COVID, there was a little bit of rust in a couple of guys," Trotz said. "Some guys had a little bit of game rust, a couple of our defensemen, but they got better as the game went on… These guys can catch up to the moving train and I think they'll be able to do that very shortly here."

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders head to Detroit to take on the Red Wings on Saturday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.