Takeaways: Islanders Earn Point in 1-0 OT Loss to Blues 

The New York Islanders were shut out by the St. Louis Blues 1-0 on Thursday night, but earned a point in an OT loss to conclude their three-game road trip with a 1-1-1 record.

Jake Neighbours scored the game’s only goal 2:04 into the extra session to win the contest for the Blues. Ilya Sorokin turned aside 29 of 30 shots faced in his second straight start, while Joel Hofer stopped all 34 shots in the Blues’ first win on home ice of the season.

“I thought we played very well defensively, and when we did not, Ilya made some key saves for us,” said Head Coach Patrick Roy. “Offensively, I thought we had our chances, and I do believe if we keep playing like this we’ll have our share of success.”

The contest began as a tight, physical game and that tone remained through a full 60 minutes. Bo Horvat got close to scoring with a grade-A chance in the middle frame but hit the post twice and put a puck through the crease. The frustration on both sides boiled over early in the third period, when Alexander Romanov and Jake Neighbours got into it and each received matching minors for roughing.

The Islanders outshot the Blues 34-30 and had the edge on high-danger chances 10-6 at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick, but couldn’t penetrate Hofer, who had a strong performance to earn his third career shutout. The Islanders picked up three of a possible six points on their three-game Central Division road trip, where they went 1-1-1.

“I thought we had our chances, especially in the third period,” said Roy. “A couple ones I couldn’t believe they didn’t go in. We had our chances to win that hockey game. Three out of six [points] on the road, these are tough places to play, Dallas, Colorado and here. I’m not saying I’m satisfied with it, but when I look at that road trip, I’d take three out of six.”

SOROKIN SPORTS SOLID PERFORMANCE, BUT ISLES FALL IN GOALIE DUEL:

Although his solid performance didn’t produce a win for the Islanders, the poise and confidence Sorokin displayed in his second consecutive start is a major positive for the Islanders, especially since he missed all of training camp and preseason.

The Russian netminder has allowed three goals over the span of his first two games of the season, which gives the team in front of him reassurance.

"He's been brilliant," Ryan Pulock said. "Both nights he made caliber saves and he's making hard saves. We have a lot of confidence when he's in there, both our guys."

Sorokin made a big save on Jordan Kyrou, who led the Blues last season with 31 goals, midway through the middle frame and followed up by stifling a rebound attempt on Robert Thomas. Sorokin had a heroic save on Brandon Saad to keep it scoreless late in the second period, and stopped all eight shots faced in the third period to get to overtime.

His only blemish came in the extra session, where Neighbours entered the slot and tapped in a cross-ice feed from Philip Broberg for the game-winner at 2:04 in a frustrating loss for the Islanders.

“It’s always sad when you give up a goal in overtime, but it’s one game and we got one point,” Sorokin said. “I’m always at one level, win or lose, control what I can control.”

The penalty kill was perfect for the third consecutive game, going 1-for-1 against St. Louis, which Roy attributes to strong goaltending.

“It’s very encouraging because it takes a lot of pressure off of us,” Roy said. “We have a bit of success right now on our penalty killing, three games in a row not giving up goals which is great for us. Our goaltending has been good.”

ODDS AND ENDS

• The Islanders had the edge in blocks, 21-12.
• Casey Cizikas led the team with four hits, all recorded in the opening frame.
• Brock Nelson went 8-for-13 in the dot (62%).

NOTABLE QUOTE

"Sorokin gave us a chance and we had our looks, but we weren't able to capitalize," Pageau said. "We wanted to finish the strong with the two points back home, but there's a lot of positives."

NEXT GAME

The Islanders return home to host the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday to open a two-game homestand. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. at UBS Arena.