3 Takeaways: Islanders Fall to Canucks 5-2

The New York Islanders returned home on Tuesday night, but they did not return to the win column, falling 5-2 to the Vancouver Canucks at UBS Arena.

Brock Nelson scored two goals for the Islanders, netting a power-play goal to make it 3-1 and another tally to make it 4-2, but that’s all the offense they could muster against the Pacific Division-leading Canucks.

Filip Hronek (PPG, 1A), Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson, Tyler Myers and Dakota Joshua (ENG) scored for Vancouver, who completed a sweep of the Tri-State Area.

Ilya Sorokin stopped 29 of 33 in the loss, while Casey DeSmith stopped 18 of 20 in the win.

“They're a good team over there. They played well and I didn’t think we showed our best,” Kyle Palmieri said.

The loss was the Islanders second straight in regulation, marking their first consecutive regulation defeats since Nov. 11 and 13. The Isles finish the year 0-1-1 against Vancouver. The Islanders (46 points) dropped to fourth in the ultra-tight Metropolitan Division in the defeat. Two points separate third place Philadelphia (46 points) from seventh-place Pittsburgh (44 points).

“It's still right before the halfway point, but you look at the Metro, and how tight the standings are, every team is kind of making a push,” Nelson said. “We're right there, so we want to string together a few to get some momentum.”

CANUCKS COMPLETE TRI-STATE SWEEP:

Vancouver entered the game as the league’s highest-scoring team, averaging 3.88 goals per game and lived up to their billing. The Canucks scored five goals for a third straight game and the fourth time in their last five.

Defensemen did the damage on Tuesday, as Vancouver got three goals from three different blueliners – the first time the Isles allowed goals from three different d-men since Dec. 14, 2017.

“They transition the puck quickly, and they move it fast and they come right back at you if you're turning pucks over and things like that,” Palmieri said. “We kind of knew what to expect but weren't able to get to our game quick enough.”

After a relatively even first period, the Canucks scored two goals in a span of 2:17 to take a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period. Filip Hronek opened the scoring with a power-play goal at the 16:25, on what was effectively a five-on-three after Hronek’s initial shot left Casey Cizikas hobbled. Quinn Hughes made it 2-0 at the 18:42 mark, spinning off the wall, skating into the slot and sneaking a wrister through traffic and Sorokin.

Per statistician Eric Hornick, the 2-0 deficit marked the first time all season the Isles trailed by multiple goals after the first period – as well as the first time it had happened under Lane Lambert at home.

“To come out of that period down 2-0 was very difficult to swallow,” Head Coach Lane Lambert said. “We just couldn't sustain anything. Give them credit. They played well.”

Vancouver continued to apply pressure in the second period, holding the Isles without a shot on goal for the first seven-and-a-half minutes. Elias Pettersson extended the Canucks’ lead to 3-0 at the 10:20 mark, as Hronek pickpocketed Adam Pelech setting Pettersson and JT Miller up for a two-on-one in tight.

The Islanders got that one back quickly, as Brock Nelson finished off a pretty, behind-the-back, backhander from Kyle Palmieri for a power-play goal at 11:11. Nelson’s goal was one of just four shots for the Islanders in the second period. Tyler Myers beat Sorokin with a slap shot off the rush at the 17:24 mark.

That put the Isles in a 4-1 hole against a team that was 23-0-0 when leading after two periods entering the game. Nelson’s second of the game, a wrister from the high slot through traffic and DeSmith, made it 4-2, but Dakota Joshua iced the game with an empty-netter.

ISLES OFFENSE HAS HARD TIME GENERATING:

While the Islanders had been able to keep pace with the high-octane Colorado Avalanche on their road trip, and trade chances with Vancouver in their first meeting, the Isles offense was in tough on Tuesday night.  

The Isles were held to 20 shots on goal and just six high-danger chances at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick. More than half of those shots came in the first period, when both teams put 11 shots on net. The Islanders were limited to just four shots on goal during the second period and only had five in the third. Credit had to be paid to the Canucks again, as they remained one of the stingiest teams in the NHL, averaging the fourth-fewest goals against per game. 

“They just played north and they played quickly,” Lambert said. “We just weren't very good tonight in terms of moving pucks, playing quickly and as a result, we didn't really generate a lot.”

PELECH RETURNS, CIZIKAS LEAVES:

Adam Pelech returned to the Islanders lineup for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury on Nov. 24 and missing 20 games. Sam Bolduc came out of the lineup to accommodate Pelech’s return.

Pelech played 17:33 with one hit, three giveaways and pair of blocked shots. Pelech said he felt

“It was great to be back. It's been a long time, but definitely not thrilled with my game,” Pelech said. It's been a while off, no excuses, but I have to be better, so we'll get there, but it was great to be back in the lineup with the guys.”

While Pelech returned, Casey Cizikas blocked a slap shot at the end of the first period and eventually left the game after taking one shift in the second period. Lambert didn’t have an update on Cizikas’ status after the game.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders finish their two-game homestand on Thursday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.