Takeaways: Islanders Let Lead Slip in 2-1 Loss to Red Wings

Thursday night was a frustrating and familiar result for the New York Islanders, who allowed a pair of late third period goals to fall 2-1 to the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena.

Simon Holmstrom had the Islanders up 1-0 in the first period, but that was all the offense the Islanders could muster. Jonatan Berggren tied it with 4:46 to play in the third period, with Lucas Raymond netting the game-winner with 51.1 seconds to play.

“It's just not good enough,” Noah Dobson said. “Up 1-0… we have to find a way to close it out. We definitely can't afford to not even get a point out of it, so we have learn from it and get back.”

The loss extended the Islanders winless skid to three games (0-2-1) and left the Isles with a 1-2-2 record on their five-game road trip.

“We had some good games we let slip away for what could have been a good road trip,” Kyle Palmieri said. “We’ll just reset and get ourselves ready for Saturday at home.”

ISLANDERS LET LATE LEAD SLIP AWAY:

Thursday marked the third straight game the Islanders let a third period lead slip away and while the particulars of each game differed slightly, it added up to the same frustrating result.

On this night, it was a broken stick that allowed the Red Wings to tie the score. Alexander Romanov’s stick exploded at the Detroit blue line, sending the Red Wings back on an odd-man rush the other way. Berggren, a defenseman, opted to shoot, beating Ilya Sorokin with a top corner snipe to the blocker side.

While the Islanders were able to get a point out of Tuesday’s game in Calgary – where the Flames notched the score 1-1 in the third on a power-play goal – that was not the case in the Motor City. Dylan Larkin carried the puck into the corner in Islanders zone and chopped a puck out to an open Lucas Raymond, who beat Sorokin with another snipe, this time over the glove with 51.1 seconds to play.

After starting the season 5-0-0 when leading after two periods, Thursday marked the second straight game the Isles fell when taking a lead into the final frame (5-1-1). It also marked the eighth time this season the Islanders had allowed a tying goal, with their record dropping to 2-3-3 over that span.

“We have to figure out a way to execute under the kind of pressure that protecting a late lead requires,” Palmieri said.

What’s been a commonality through the past three games has been the Islanders lack of offense, with only four goals over that span. On a night where neither team hit double-digits in terms of high-danger chances, the Islanders held a 9-5 edge at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick, but couldn’t find a way to convert.

“We know we have to be better,” Palmieri said. “It's about executing. [It was a] bad break on the broken stick, but even still, we had chances to put the game away. I had chances on my stick to give us some cushion, and didn't get the job done.”

ODDS AND ENDS:

- Sorokin stopped 29 of 31 on Thursday night, but is now 0-2-2 in his last four starts. It was hard to fault the netminder on a night without a lot of run support, but it was a disappointing – his words - end what had been a solid night for the first 55 minutes.

- After giving Alex Lyon an unobstructed night in the team’s first meeting in October, the Islanders were adamant about creating traffic in front of the Detroit netminder.

They followed through early, with Holmstrom deflecting a Scott Mayfield point shot to open the scoring at 5:51 of the opening frame. The Islanders had a few more chances in front of the net throughout the game, but for the second straight meeting Lyon was more than equal to the task. Lyon stopped 22-of-23 in the win and has now stopped 52-of-53 over the two meeting.

- The Islanders penalty kill was a perfect 3-for-3 against Detroit’s second-ranked power play. The Isles power play was 0-for-1.

- Noah Dobson played a team-high 22:37.

- Scott Mayfield had a team-high six hits.

- Oliver Wahlstrom and JG Pageau had a team-high three shots on goal.

LINEUP NOTES:

Ilya Sorokin starting in goal was the lone change to the Islanders lineup.

NOTABLE QUOTE:

Patrick Roy on not letting frustration seep in during an offensive drought:

“We have to find a way to be loose. The guys are not alone. We're there with them. We have our chances, but we just have to find a way to make them relax and find ways to get the back of the net and get some confidence in ourselves. That’s something we're going to have to find ways to do.”

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders return home to host the St. Louis Blues on Hockey Fights Cancer night on Saturday at UBS Arena. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.