3 Takeaways: Islanders Mount Late Comeback, Fall 5-4 to Avalanche

Semyon Varlamov held the fort as long as possible, but despite a season-high 44 saves from the New York Islanders netminder - and a late comeback attempt - it was not enough to stop the high-flying Colorado Avalanche in a 5-4 loss on Monday night at UBS Arena.
Varlamov had 33 saves through two periods, keeping the Islanders with a 1-1 tie with the league's top team, but the Avalanche broke the dam in the third period, scoring four goals in a four-and-a-half-minute span to take a 5-1 lead. Ultimately, the Islanders closed the game with three third period goals of their own, leading to the 5-4 final.

It was a disappointing result for the Islanders after Saturday's gutsy 2-1 win over St. Louis, as the Islanders have not won consecutive games since winning three straight from Jan. 17-21.
"There's a lot of character in this room and we never gave up," Anthony Beauvillier said. "Lots of big save from Varly and it's unfortunate we couldn't get the win for him. He deserves a lot from us tonight."

VARLAMOV STOPS 44, KEEPS ISLES IN GAME EARLY:

It's not often a goaltender is called the best player in the game after allowing five goals, but make no mistake, the first 40 minutes of Monday's game was the Semyon Varlamov show, as the Islanders goaltender stopped 33-of-34 shots.
Varlamov was tested early, with Nathan MacKinnon streaking in for a chance 10 seconds into the game. He saw plenty of MacKinnon, who racked up nine shots, and plenty of Mikko Rantanen, who tested Varlamov in the slot in the first period and finished the game with five shots, and Cale Makar, who had eight shots on net.
After stopping 19-of-20 shots in the first period, Varlamov's most eye-popping stop was a paddle save on Makar at the side of the net in the second period, reaching back in desperation to rob the Avs d-man.
"Varly was the best player on both teams," Head Coach Barry Trotz said.

That kept the Islanders in a 1-1 game heading into the third, despite being outshot 34-18 at the time. The Islanders had a chance to take a lead towards the end of the second, with Josh Bailey backhanding a bouncing puck wide of an open net.
Still, the Islanders were in the game thanks to Varlamov, who was looking to end a personal five-game losing streak. It ultimately was extended to six games after the Avalanche broke the dam in the third period, leaving the Islanders feeling like they had let down their goaltender, who stopped a season-high 44 shots in the loss.
AVALANCHE 5, ISLANDERS 4
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Full Highlights

KINGER'S CALLS
Lee's Power-Play Goal
Lee's Second Goal
Cizikas Buries Rebound
Nelson's Late Goal
"Varly gave us every chance to win that game tonight," Casey Cizikas said. "He played unbelievable, he made some incredible saves and we let him down, we let him down big time."

DAM BREAKS IN THIRD PERIOD:

Despite Varlamov's effort, the Avalanche broke through to start the third period. Varlamov moved across his crease laterally to stop a Rantanen one-timer at the tail end of an Avs power play, but the Avalanche regrouped and worked the puck back to an open MacKinnon, who took advantage of an overly-aggressive Varlamov out of position at 4:06.
MacKinnon broke the dam and the Avalanche scored three more goals in the next 4:21. J.T. Compher found some open ice and buried a feed from the corner high past Varlamov at 6:34. Makar scored his second goal of the game, burying a backdoor feed from MacKinnon at 7:41. Former Islanders defenseman Devon Toews capped the four-goal blitz at 8:27, skating in wide open and snapping his 12th of the season by the Islanders netminder.
"It seemed like their next few shots were on some good plays that they finished," Anders Lee said. "Varly was making [great saves] - it could have been a lot higher by that point - so those ones were the ones that maybe deserved to go in. You've just got to find a way to change the momentum and stop the bleeding. Stop the bleeding one more [goal] and it's a different game."
The Islanders did not go quietly into the night, scoring a pair of goals 90 seconds apart to pull within two. Lee scored the second of his two goals, burying his second feed from Noah Dobson at 11:58. Casey Cizikas finished a Kyle Palmieri rebound at 13:28 to round out the scoring. Brock Nelson officially made things interesting with 27 seconds to play, beating Pavel Francouz with his 21st of the season, but that's as close as the Islanders came.

TWO GOALS FROM LEE, TWO ASSISTS FROM DOBSON:

Noah Dobson and Anders Lee have formed a connection of late, with Dobson picking up the primary assist on the Islanders' captain's last three goals, dating back to a tally against the LA Kings.
All three have come in similar fashion, with Dobson spotting Lee with a cross-ice pass from the point. That was how Lee opened the scoring at 8:59 of the first period, netting his 15th goal of the season after returning from a one-game absence. The assist was Dobson's 50th career NHL point on the power-play marker.
The two hooked up again in the third period for another power-play goal. Dobson found Lee by the side of the net with the captain pulling it to his backhand and depositing it behind Francouz.
Lee now has 16 goals this season, while Dobson hit the 30-point plateau for the first time in his NHL career. Dobson also finished the game with a team-high five shots on goal on Monday - the second time in three games Dobson has posted five shots on goal.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders kick off a back-to-back set on Thursday night as they host the Columbus Blue Jackets at UBS Arena. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.