3 Takeaways: Islanders Get Point in 4-3 OT Loss to Blackhawks

The New York Islanders picked up a point in Friday’s 4-3 OT loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, but that was little consolation at the conclusion of a disappointing 0-3-1 road trip.

“It wasn't good enough,” Bo Horvat said after Friday’s loss. “It wasn't a very good trip for us. There were parts of it where we played good hockey, but at the end of the day, we have to figure out ways to get wins we just didn't do it.”

Seth Jones scored the OT winner for the Blackhawks 22 seconds into the extra frame, negating an Islanders third period comeback that saw them rally out of a 3-1 hole to tie the game. Horvat and Kyle Palmieri scored the third period goals for the Islanders, while Brock Nelson’s first period goal rounded out the scoring for New York.

Boris Katchouk, Joey Anderson (1G, 1A) and Jason Dickinson (1G, 1A) scored in regulation for the Blackhawks, who netted four goals for just the second time in their past 11 games.  

Ilya Sorokin stopped 20 of 24 in the loss, while Petr Mrazek stopped 26 of 29 in the win.

The 0-3-1 trip set the Islanders (49 points) back in the standings, as they started their road trip fourth in the Metropolitan Division, but have since dropped to sixth, one point ahead the Pittsburgh Penguins (48 points), though the Penguins have three games in hand.

“We're kind of in a little bit of a lull here,” Horvat said. “There's still lots of hockey left to be played, but we have to put it together quick, or we're going to see ourselves keep dropping the standings.”

The Islanders return home to host the Dallas Stars on Sunday.

ISLES RALLY FOR POINT IN THIRD PERIOD:

Taking on a tired and undermanned Chicago Blackhawks team, who was playing the second night of a back-to-back after having a game postponed on Wednesday, the Islanders weren’t able to pounce on a vulnerable opponent.

After a herky-jerky first period, the Isles carried a 1-0 lead late into second period, but a stumble in the final two minutes saw them trailing the Blackhawks by the intermission.

Boris Katchouk tied the score 1-1, recovering a puck after he missed a breakaway opportunity, skating it to the high slot and sneaking a wrister through traffic at 18:07. Joey Anderson gave Chicago its first lead of the game at 19:14, converting on a two-on-one rush with Colin Blackwell after Jason Dickinson cleared the puck around a pinching Sebastian Aho.

Eventually the Islanders found a spark and ignited their game, but not before Dickinson made it 3-1 at the 5:10 mark, burying a cross-ice feed from Anderson.

“Careless play,” Head Coach Lane Lambert said, citing bad decisions, bad reads and bad pinches that led to Chicago’s goals. “Really a lack of respect for the way the game should be played.”

From there it was all Islanders in the third. Horvat responded quickly after Dickinson’s tally, rolling off a check in the offensive zone to find some open ice in the slot and buried a nice pass from Mathew Barzal at 6:38 for his 18^th of the season.

The Islanders outshot the Blackhawks 11-3 in the third period and the pressure eventually paid off, as Kyle Palmieri tied the score at the 12:50 mark, circling the net with speed to tuck in a wraparound.

It seemed like the Islanders bad luck on the trip may have changed when Colin Blackwell skied a shot over an open net with 2:39 to play in the third, but reality caught up with the Isles in overtime. Jones ended the game quickly, using Noah Dobson as a rolling screen before floating a wrister past Sorokin at the 22-second mark.

NELSON NETS 20^TH:

Brock Nelson netted his 20^th goal of the season with the opening tally on Friday night.

The Islanders’ second line teamed up on the goal, with Kyle Palmieri finding Hudson Fasching with a pass across the zone that Fasching quickly dished to a driving Nelson. The Islanders center made no mistake, getting a shot off fast, catching Petr Mrazek deep in his net.

Nelson has reached the 20-goal mark for the eighth time in his career, and for the eighth time in the last nine full seasons (he had 18 in the abbreviated 56-game season in 2020-21). Nelson’s eight 20-goal seasons match Clark Gillies’ mark with the franchise. Only five players have recorded more 20-goal seasons for the Isles.

The goal also counted as point number 498 in Nelson’s career and snapped a four-game point drought.

Nelson finished the night with a goal, five shots on goal and nine total attempts in 17:42 TOI, winning seven of his 13 face-offs.

MACLEAN DEBUTS AND OTHER LINEUP CHANGES:

Kyle MacLean made his NHL debut on Friday, skating 10:32 on a line with Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck. The rookie threw one hit, had one takeaway, one blocked shot and one shot attempt in his debut. Oliver Wahlstrom came out of the lineup for MacLean.

“I was very fortunate to get the opportunity,” MacLean said. “Get the first one out of the way and get a feel of what it's like was definitely good for me and I'll learn from it.”

MacLean said he had some pre-game jitters, but settled in as the game wore on. Lambert liked what he saw from MacLean in his NHL debut.

“He was good,” Lambert said. “He skates well. I can see as we go along here, the trust level will be high with him. That's really encouraging to see I thought he had a good first game.”

Samuel Bolduc returned to the lineup after sitting out for five games as a healthy scratch, coming in for Mike Reilly. Bolduc skated on a pairing with Scott Mayfield.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders return home to host the Dallas Stars on Sunday night. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.