3 Takeaways: Islanders Outlast Blues in 2-1 Victory

The New York Islanders got back in the win column following two-straight losses as they defeated the St. Louis Blues 2-1 on Saturday afternoon at UBS Arena.
Oliver Wahlstrom and Brock Nelson (power play) scored, while Ilya Sorokin made 27 saves on 28 shots in the victory.
Robert Thomas scored late in the game for St. Louis and robbed Sorokin of the shutout, while Jordan Binnington made 18 saves on 20 shots in the loss.

From the start of puck drop until the final buzzer, the Islanders executed a full-60-minute effort reflective of their tenacious, consistent, balanced identity.
"I liked our game, we started right from the get-go," Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "Everyone played well. Everybody was engaged. That's the type of game that we'll have success at."

ISLES PLAY TO THEIR IDENTITY IN WIN

The Islanders set the tone against the Blues as they commanded control of the game early on after killing off a penalty taken in the first minute of play. The Islanders maintained that effort throughout the duration of the game as they implemented a smothering forecheck to disrupt St. Louis' four-line offense, won the special teams battle and were strong in their own zone. When intensities rose throughout the course of the game, the Islanders didn't back down, including a late second-period scrum and a third-period fight between Scott Mayfield and Klim Kostin.
"I thought our group did a good job and played with a lot of energy," Nelson said. "Emotionally, everyone was into it. Special teams both did the job tonight and that was the difference. It was a big win for us against a good team. They've got a lot of good players over there, top-five in special teams and goals for."
The Islanders got off to a strong 1-0 start over the Blues despite giving up - and successfully killing off - a penalty against the second-best power play in the league (26.5%) in the opening minute of the game as well as being outshot 8-6.
"That's huge when you can win that [special teams] battle," Ryan Pulock said. "We got a big power-play goal and got some momentum there."

Just a handful of minutes into the period, Binnington denied Wahlstrom on a breakaway. On that same shift, the winger grabbed a pass from Adam Pelech on the doorstep and squeaked his shot under Binnington's elbow to provide the Islanders with a 1-0 lead. The goal marked Wahlstrom's 11th of the season and his first since Feb. 1.
The Islanders seemingly doubled their lead with three minutes and change left in the period, as Kyle Palmieri skated to the high slot and wired his shot through traffic past Binnington, but the goal was challenged by the Blues' coaching staff and successfully overturned for goaltender interference.
The Islanders ended the period with 4.7 seconds on their first power play of the game as Pavel Buchnevich was called for slashing. As the Islanders continued that power play into the second period, they converted at 1:04 as Nelson buried his team-leading 20th goal of the season. From the high slot, Nelson launched a one-timer off Noah Dobson's lateral pass past Binnington. The goal marked the sixth time in Nelson's NHL career that he's reached the 20-goal mark.

Both sides heated up in the second and third period, but the Islanders' game didn't deviate.
Midway through the third period and for the second time on Saturday afternoon, Palmieri had a goal overturned upon review. On an Islanders' power play midway through the period Ryan Pulock lofted a shot on net. Palmieri redirected the puck past Binnington and below the Blues' crossbar that would have extended the Islanders' lead to 3-0. But upon review, it was deemed that Palmieri's stick was too high during the play.
In the waning minutes of the game, the Blues' forecheck hemmed the Islanders in their own zone and from the near post, Thomas squeezed the puck past Sorokin at 17:08 to put St. Louis on the board and rid Sorokin of the clean sheet.

SOROKIN STAYS STELLAR IN WIN

Sorokin was a major factor in the Islanders' ability to stifle one of the top offenses in the NHL as St. Louis entered the game ranked fifth for goals for per game at 3.57. The 26-year-old made his 27 saves as he earned his 18th win of the season and improved his record 18-12-7.
"He's been spectacular all year," Pulock said. "He gives us a chance every night. Every night he makes big saves for us. Obviously, you need that. You look around the league, and goalies can steal games every night. He was good again tonight."
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KINGER'S CALLS
Wahlstrom Squeaks One In
Nelson's PPG
Sorokin came up with timely stops on the eight shots he faced in the first period to keep the Blues off the board. Shortly after Wahlstrom's icebreaker, Sorokin smothered a solid look from St. Louis' Kostin in the high slot to preserve the Islanders' one-goal lead.
Midway through the second period, Sorokin denied Robert Bortuzzo on the doorstep as he tried to jam one past the Islanders' netminder.
After only facing a combined 13 shots in the first two period, Sorokin had his work cut out for him with 15 shots against in the final 20 minutes of play.
Sorokin was solid in the final frame and came up with crucial stops as the clock wound down.
Especially after the Blues cut their deficit down to one goal, Sorokin was under siege as they fired off an onslaught of Grade A looks, but Sorokin held them off to help the Islanders pick up the win. The Russian netminder made a sliding save across his crease to deny a one-timer from the left circle and he stopped a look in tight of his near post.

ISLANDERS SHAKE UP THE LINEUP

The Islanders' lineup underwent some necessary retooling.
Ahead of the game, the Islanders announced that they recalled Otto Koivula and Parker Wotherspoon from their AHL affiliate the Bridgeport Islanders and that defenseman Zdeno Chara (upper body) was placed on injured reserve retroactive Feb. 26.
The Islanders lineup was also without Mathew Barzal (lower body) missed his fourth-straight game and remains listed as day-to-day, while Anders Lee missed the game due to personal reasons.
With the absences, Trotz had to split up one of his hottest lines of Zach Parise, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Kyle Palmieri. Instead, Otto Koivula returned to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 24, 2021, and skated alongside Oliver Wahlstrom and Parise, while Pageau and Palmieri skated with Kieffer Bellows. Josh Bailey returned to his usual position on the right wing as he was realigned with Nelson and Anthony Beauvillier.
The Islanders utilized the same six defensemen but shook up the pairs to reunite the longtime d-partners of Adam Pelech and Pulock back together, while Scott Mayfield was slotted with Sebastain Aho.
"It was just time," Trotz said. "[Pulock] has had some time. He missed a lot of time. His game was just off and we wanted to give him the opportunity. We just felt let's put them together. I think Scott Mayfield has had an outstanding season. Today, Sebastian Aho - he's not overly tall - but his compete level and his ability to move pucks, we thought we'd put them together. Greenee and Dobson, they've been together quite a bit. So, just [Pelech and Pulock] back together, let it marinate a little bit as a pair. We've got lots of games, it was just time."

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders continue their homestand as they host the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.