3 Takeaways: Islanders Get Back to Win Column with 3-2 Victory Over Senators 

The New York Islanders needed two points and they got it on Thursday night in a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators at UBS Arena.  

Bo Horvat (1G, 1A), Cal Clutterbuck and Noah Dobson (GWG, 1A) found the back of the net for the Islanders, while Claude Giroux and Jakob Chychrun scored for the Senators.  

Special teams stood out in the contest, as the Islanders went 1-for-4 on the power play and 7-for-8 on the penalty kill. Ilya Sorokin turned aside 45 of 47 in the win while Joonas Korpisalo stopped 35 of 38 in the loss for the Senators. With the win, the Islanders halted their three-game winless skid.  

"It was a really chopped up game with all the penalties," Bo Horvat said. "But I'm proud of the way we finished and got that win."

ISLANDERS REGROUP, PULL AHEAD IN THIRD PERIOD

The Islanders came out the gate on the right foot, skating a 2-0 lead after the first frame. Bo Horvat won a draw on the power play to Noah Dobson, who fired a shot from the point, which was initially saved by Korpisalo. Horvat drove to the net to bury the rebound for his third goal of the season.

“I like the fact that we're looking to attack right away, we scored right off the faceoff,” Lambert said. “I thought we had a couple opportunities tonight, but thought we moved puck a little too slow on the power play.”

Clutterbuck tacked on another goal in the first period to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead, but the Senators got one back on a 4-on-3 advantage at 6:52 of the second period, as Claude Giroux wristed one through Sorokin to cut the deficit to 2-1.

There was a tense moment midway through the game, where Erik Brannstrom took a hit from Clutterbuck along the boards and fell awkwardly, hitting his head on the ice and was eventually carried off in a stretcher. Per Senators PR, the defenseman is alert and was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.

“I still have a pit in my stomach,” Clutterbuck said when asked how he felt about the Brannstrom situation.

The scary incident cast a shadow on the rest of the game. The Islanders lost their structure while the Senators were able to create more traffic in front of the net. Jakob Chychrun tied it up in the middle frame, taking a long shot from the point that beat Sorokin through traffic. Ottawa ramped up their shot volume, recording 18 shots middle frame and finishing the contest with 47 shots on goal.

“We were rolling so good there in the first period,” Bo Horvat said. “But we just kind of lost that momentum a little bit and we have to work on that.”

After the Islanders killed off an important 4-on-3 penalty early in the third period to keep the score knotted at two, Dobson picked up his second point of the game with a critical third-period goal to take a 3-2 lead for the Islanders. With the goal and assist, Dobson extended his point streak to five games and the defenseman leads the team with seven points (2G, 5A) this season.

“It started with that big kill,” said Dobson. “They did a great job at the start of that period and Ilya made some big saves. Then we just tried to get back to our game from there. It wasn't pretty by any means. It’s not really the style we want to play especially versus team like that. But we're able to stick with it and find a way to win.”

SPECIAL TEAMS DEFINE MATCHUP  

The Islanders found themselves playing a lot of minutes shorthanded on Thursday, taking a season-high eight penalties including six in the middle frame.  

“Our goaltender was our best penalty killer,” Lambert said. “The penalty kill was good, and I thought they did a great job all night long, really. That was basically the reason we won the game.” 

Sorokin faced a season-high 47 shots on Thursday and came up in big moments, especially shorthanded and in the final frame.   

"We definitely want to be better in front of him," Horvat said. "That [means] staying out of the box and playing five on five. And when you take those penalties, it's going to be tough on your goaltender, but he was a brick wall again tonight." 

The power play went 1-for-4 with Horvat finding the back of the net early in the contest with the man advantage, but the Islanders are looking to stay hungry and be aggressive after taking an early lead.  

“It was nice to get one early,” Dobson said. “But even though we got that first one, we have to keep that killer instinct to go ahead and try and find another. But to get a power play goal is huge and we have to continue to build off of it and keep working on it.”

IDENTITY LINE SHOWS UP IN IMPORTANT WIN 

The line comprised of Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas and Clutterbuck hit the scoresheet in more ways than one.  

Clutterbuck drew a penalty early in the first period that led to Horvat’s opening goal and the team’s third power play goal of the season, following up with a goal of his own in the opening frame. 

Martin had a strong forecheck to free up the puck, allowing Cizikas to collect it along the boards behind the net to sauce it to Clutterbuck in the slot, who extended his goal streak to two games to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead. 

“I thought those guys were full marks tonight for what they do,” Lambert said. “They killed penalties, Casey and Cal killed a ton of penalties and played a lot of minutes shorthanded. Those guys gave us what they always give us in their very, very disciplined structure.” 

Clutterbuck recorded his 76th career goal with the Islanders and moved into the top 50 franchise list in the process. The veteran winger is tied for 49th on the all-time list with Jordan Eberle and Claude Lapointe.  

As it got late in the third period, Lambert gave credit to his players who stood out in protecting the 3-2 lead.  

“Especially that shift they had when they were trying to get the goalie out, Clutterbuck, Horvat and Cizikas, they protected the puck,” Lambert said. “They played the game right way.”

NEXT GAME

The Islanders head out on the road to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night at 7 p.m.