3 Takeaways: Islanders Score Four Goals in Third Period, Beat Detroit 4-1

The Islanders rose to the occasion on Saturday, beating the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 in front of a home crowd at UBS Arena, earning a crucial two points against a team chasing them in the standings.
After three days off between games, the Islanders were energized against Detroit outshooting them by a two-to-one margin, but the scoresheet didn't reflect the solid effort until the final 20 minutes. Four tallies from Zach Parise, Anders Lee (2G) and Kyle Palmieri (PPG) resulted in a breakout third period for New York. Dylan Larkin (PPG) scored the lone goal for Detroit.

With the win, the Islanders regained possession of the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with 72 points, but six teams behind them are within reach of seven points, as of Saturday afternoon. A regulation win against Detroit was extra important, as the Islanders are now seven points clear of the Red Wings (65), so while Detroit holds three games in hand, they cannot catch the Isles just by closing the games played gap.
"We're going to be doing a lot of scoreboard watching from here on out," Zach Parise said after the victory. "There are teams that are chasing us that have some games in hand. It's important for us to keep winning."
The Islanders have picked up nine of a possible 12 points over their last six games, going 4-1-1 over that span.

ISLES IGNITE IN THIRD PERIOD:

The Islanders peppered Magnus Hellberg with 16 shots in the first frame and exited the second period outshooting the Red Wings 25-12, but the Islanders found themselves down 1-0 at the end of the first 40 minutes because of a power-play goal from Dylan Larkin.
"We knew at some point we were going to get rewarded," Sebastian Aho said. "When you outshoot the other team and they get the first goal it's it is a little bit tough mentally, but we did a good job of staying with it."
The Islanders were able to shut down Detroit offensively from there, and were finally rewarded in the third frame, busting out four unanswered goals to take the win.
ISLANDERS 4, RED WINGS 1
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Postgame: Lambert
Postgame: Aho
Postgame: Lee
Postgame: Parise
KINGER'S CALLS
Parise Opens Floodgates
Lee's First Goal
Palmieri's Deflection
Lee's Second Goal
Aho skated the puck from the Islanders' zone to Detroit's before deflecting a Palmieri shot on goal that saw Hellberg made the initial save. From the other side of the ice, Parise was there to clean up the rebound, burying his 16th goal of the season to get the Islanders on the board early in the third.
The Islanders were able to strike again within three minutes of the game-tying goal. Cizikas won a faceoff in the Red Wings zone, as Hudson Fasching was able to find open ice in the high slot to rip it towards the net. The puck caught Lee's stick before finding the back of the net to make it 2-1, which held up as the game-winner. Noah Dobson's one timer on the power play was redirected by Palmieri to extend the score to 3-1, while Lee netted his second of the night to cap off a four-goal outing for New York.
The Islanders are 13-0 in third periods over their last eight games.

ENGVALL DEBUTS ON TOP LINE:

Pierre Engvall, the Islanders' newest acquisition, had a solid debut for his new team.
Engvall, who was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, played on the top line with Lee and Bo Horvat. The top line recorded a combined 11 shots on goal.
"[Engvall] was great," said Lee, who scored the game-winner. "Our line had a really strong game, especially first time all together. Being able to know where each other was and quick little plays, I thought he had a great night."
Engvall fired off five shots (two on goal, one attempted and two missed) and recorded a takeaway in his debut wearing an Islanders sweater. Engvall fit in on the top line and capped off his first game with 17:26 TOI.
"We found each other pretty good out there," Engvall said of playing with Lee and Horvat. "It was really fun. Really good players, so I was really excited to play with those guys."

ISLES STAY STINGY DEFENSIVELY:

The Islanders continued their trend of containing their opponent's offense, only allowing eight total goals in their last six games.
Since losing 6-2 to the Boston on Feb. 18, the Islanders are allowing 1.33 goals against per game, which leads the NHL over that span.
"Our just our coverage in the defensive zone has been really good," Parise said. "We're blocking a lot of shots and we say it after every game, how good our goaltending has been all year."
Ilya Sorokin stopped 22 of 23 shots on Saturday, allowing one goal or fewer for the 18th time of the season. Sorokin also had the rare chance to play live in front of his father, Igor Sorokin, who made it out to UBS Arena for the first time to watch his son play in the NHL.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders take on the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night at UBS Arena. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.