5 Takeaways: Islanders Smother Sabres in 3-1 Win

The New York Islanders kicked off their four-game road trip with a 3-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night at KeyBank Center. In doing so, the Islanders also extended their point streak to seven games (4-0-3) and made franchise history as they didn't allow a single shot on goal from the Sabres for the entirety of the third period.
The win was propelled by two goals scored in the waning minutes of the first period from Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who extended his goal streak to three games. Brock Nelson provided the Islanders with an insurance goal as he struck on the power play in the second period. Mathew Barzal dished out an assist to keep his career-long, nine-game point streak alive and has 11 points (4G, 7A) over that span. Semyon Varlamov backstopped the Islanders to victory with his 20 saves and made his fifth-consecutive start, marking his longest run between the pipes of this season thus far.

What was crucial for the Islanders - who faced a Sabres squad that had not played a game in 15 days due to COVID protocol and game postponements - was that while they didn't have the cleanest start to the game, they dug in, eventually found their game and never allowed themselves to lose the lead. In turn, they were able to enforce one of their best defensive periods of the season.
"I was a little disappointed in our start I thought we'd come out with a little more juice," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "I knew Buffalo would be very excited… but I knew they might be rusty, but they came out enthused and brought it. I thought [Varlamov] was real strong for us. We were just a little loose with the puck, loose in some of our plays, not really making firm plays. They're too good of a team to do that. Then we sort of settled in the last five minutes of the first period and then in the second period I felt like we were starting to come and then third period we got to our game and locked it down pretty good. Wasn't perfect, but a necessary type of game for us and I thought as the game wore on, we got better and better."

POINT STREAK REACHES SEVEN GAMES

With the win, the Islanders extended their point streak to seven games (4-0-3) and picked up an important two points to start their road trip.
To start the game off, while neither team could assemble a sturdy offensive possession and was forced to settle for creating offensive opportunities in transition, the Sabres picked up some steam with five minutes left in the snoozer of a first period.
The Islanders kept Buffalo's push at bay, as Varlamov made a huge stop on a backdoor Victor Olofsson chance with just over five-minutes on the clock. The Islanders fed off the much-needed boost from their netminder and proceeded to capitalize on their subsequent opportunities on quick-strikes in transition.
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Nelson's PPG
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Nelson's PPG
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Lee's Opening Goal
Both of the Islanders first-period goals, which were scored in the span of 1:44, were courtesy of a Nick Leddy coast-to-coast zone entry.
The Islanders first strike resulted as Leddy entered the zone and dished the puck out to Josh Bailey. The Sabres forced a turnover, but a pinch and body check by Barzal recovered the puck and the 23-year-old was able to feed Bailey in the slot. Bailey strung a pass to Lee down low, who tipped his shot over Buffalo netminder Linus Ullmark and scored his fifth goal of the season.
Just under two minutes later, the Islanders were buzzing off their goal and the confidence radiated throughout their lineup. As Leddy once again carried the puck from the Islanders zone and into Buffalo's zone the blueliner dished it out to Pageau along the right boards. Pageau, who has the hot hand and has scored three goals in the last two games prior to facing Buffalo, assessed the unlikelihood of generating much closer with him and Leddy facing three Buffalo skaters and instead, ripped his shot from a sharp angle at the right faceoff circle. His shot beat Ullmark glove save and gave the Islanders a 2-0 lead heading into the second period.
In the second period, both teams exchanged power-play goals. The Sabres struck first as they were awarded the first power play of the night after Adam Pelech was assessed for tripping 28 seconds into the period.

The Sabres power play, which is ranked sixth overall in the NHL, showcased why as it spread out the Islanders penalty kill and left Olofsson all alone at the right faceoff circle. The Sabres leading goal scorer blasted his one-timer far side past Varlamov, who didn't stand a chance to get set up on the play and thus, cut Buffalo's deficit back to one goal.
The deficit was short-lived for the Sabres as the Islanders would respond with a power-play goal of their own 9:49 into the period after Brandon Davidson went to the box for holding Casey Cizikas. Nelson restored the Islanders two-goal lead in the second period as he tipped-in a slick setup from Bailey, who recorded his second assist on the night, from the doorstep. The goal was Nelson's third of the season, all three of which have come on the man advantage.
The period ended with Buffalo returning to the power play with 29.7 seconds on the clock as Cizikas was assessed with slashing.
To start the final period of regulation, the Islanders had to kill off 1:31 of Buffalo's power play that had carried over. While Buffalo began the period with an opportunity to gain some momentum and set the pace, the Islanders quite literally, asphyxiated Buffalo's play.
Following back-and-forth power plays, the Islanders implemented their stereotypical choker hold on the Sabres and suffocated the life out of Buffalo's play. Even after Buffalo took its timeout with 2:04 left in the period and even pulled their goaltender, the Islanders didn't allow them to create anything.
To put that strangulation in perspective, the Islanders held the Sabres without a shot throughout the entire period and established a new franchise record. They had held a 12-0 shot advantage over Buffalo during that span.
"We like to think that in those situations we're comfortable, we know what we need to do to lock things down," Bailey said. "You certainly can't expect [holding a team to zero shots] to happen. There certainly were some blocked shots from some of our guys and that's just part of the commitment we need to have success that we're looking for."

PAGEAU'S SCORING TOUCH

Video: NYI@BUF: Pageau wires wicked wrister past Ullmark
After going without a goal for seven-straight games, Pageau seems to be having no problem finding the back of the net as the center extended his goal streak to three games.
During the last three-consecutive games, Pageau has lit the lamp four times, including once shorthanded. Coming into the contest against the Sabres, Trotz noted that Pageau appeared to have his 'edge' back and that swagger certainly showed against Buffalo.
Pageau utilized his shot-first mentality to rifle in his fifth goal of the season with 1:39 left in the first period. While the game wasn't Pageau's best and Trotz noted his line with Oliver Wahlstrom and Leo Komarov had a 'sluggish' start, Trotz still applauded Pageau.
"[Pageau] is a guy you win with," Trotz said. "He gets it done when it matters most."

VARLY'S FIFTH-STRAIGHT START

Video: NYI@BUF: Varlamov shuts the door on Olofsson
Trotz has rolled with Varlamov for the past five-straight games and allowed the netminder to go on a bit of a run.
"Varlamov wasn't tested too much, but when he was he made big time, timely saves for us," Trotz said.
While the bulk of the first period was quiet, the Sabres picked up some momentum with a handful of minutes left before the first intermission and took a 7-4 shot on goal advantage.
In what unfolded as a momentous turning point for the Islanders, Varlamov closed the door on a Grade A chance for Buffalo as he robbed Victor Oloffson on the backdoor by making a pad save and getting some extra support from his post. The play preceded the Islanders two goals that gave them a 2-0 lead heading into intermission.
While there wasn't much Varlamov could do on the Sabres' second-period power-play goal, the Islanders netminder still kept his team right in the game even after they returned their two-goal lead to 3-1. The Islanders and Sabres ended the period with nine shots each and Varlamov prevented the Sabres from taking any momentum into the second intermission, as Buffalo ended the period on its second power play of the night.

PROSPEROUS POWER PLAY

Tweet from @NYIslanders: 🎥 Barry Trotz Postgame Media Availability 🎥 pic.twitter.com/3b5HkrRvfv
The Islanders power play has now scored a power-play goal in five of their last six games and they have scored a power-play goal in three-straight games.
In a division as tight and stingy as the East Division, where every game reaches the intensity level of a playoff game, the Islanders have repeatedly emphasized the importance of having success on special teams.
"We haven't had a ton of [power play] opportunities, but in this last little stretch we've done a good job when we've had an opportunity we've been able to capitalize," Nelson said. "We've been able to get a couple of big goals. The more reps you get, whether that's practice or in games, when you get [a power play goal] that's going to feel good. It helps you."

BARZAL EXTENDS CAREER-HIGH POINT STREAK TO NINE GAMES

With the secondary assist on Lee's first-period goal, Barzal' extended his career-high point streak to nine games. In the last nine games, the 23-year-old center has totaled 11 points (4G, 7A) and leads the Islanders with his 15 points (6G, 9A) through 14 games this season.
Barzal had scored the game-winning goal - and his first power-play goal of the season - on Saturday night in the Islanders 4-2 win over Boston. While Barzal's efforts were certainly influential on Saturday, Trotz made it a point to note postgame that it wasn't Barzal's most complete game and that he wasn't as 'engaged' in regards to the defensive side of his game.
Barzal took that message to heart and his forecheck was a catalyst in providing Lee's goal. Following a forced turnover along the boards, Barzal prevented the Sabres from clearing their zone by throwing a hit on Sam Reinhart and feeding the recovered puck out to Bailey, who was in the high slot.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders and Sabres will waste no time until their next meeting. The teams return to action tomorrow night at KeyBank Center for the second leg of their back-to-back set. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.