Takeaways: Islanders Lose 7-1 to Sabres

The New York Islanders went into the holiday break on a losing note, falling 7-1 to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night at UBS Arena.

It was a tough result for the Islanders, who followed up a rousing 6-3 win over a division leader in Toronto on Saturday with a disappointing loss to the last-place Sabres, who busted a 13-game winless skid.

“There's no good way to put how that game went,” Captain Anders Lee said. "We were garbage.”

Beck Malenstyn, Jiri Kulich (2G, 1A), Jason Zucker (PPG), Zach Benson, Jack Quinn (1G, 1A) and Tage Thompson (ENG) scored for the Sabres, who picked up their first win since Nov. 23. Rasmus Dahlin had four assists, while Dylan Cozens had a pair of helpers.

Kyle Palmieri scored the lone goal for the Islanders.

The seven goals against was a season-high and the first time they’d allowed seven since Dec. 27, 2023 against Pittsburgh. The loss cost the Islanders a chance to get to NHL .500 before the NHL’s holiday break and has them in last place in the Metropolitan Division at the holiday break.

“We should be embarrassed that we came out like that, especially at home, in front of our fans in the last game before the break,” Bo Horvat said. “It’s unacceptable. I take accountability for the way I played, and everybody else has too in here as well.”

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Islanders found themselves down 2-0 in the first period on goals by Malenstyn and Kulich’s first goal. Malenstyn opened the scoring at 2:07, as a Jacob Bryson shot deflected off the winger’s leg and past Ilya Sorokin.

That marked the ninth time in 10 games the Islanders had allowed the opening goal – and Kulich extended the lead to 2-0 at 16:49, corralling a loose puck just after an Islanders penalty expired and beat Sorokin from the slot.

Things didn’t improve in the second period, as the deficit grew by three goals, with the Isles trailing 5-0 before Palmieri put the Isles on the board.

Zucker made it 3-0 at the 6:53 mark of the second period, as he one-timed a shot through traffic and Sorokin for a power-play goal. Zucker’s successful shot followed up a sequence where Jack Quinn rang a shot off the post, as the Sabres continued to push the pace vs the Isles.

Benson made it 4-0 at the 15:45 mark of the second period, as a Scott Mayfield turnover turned into an odd-man rush the other way. Sorokin stretched out for a quality first stop on Benson, but the forward got his own rebound.

The Sabres’ onslaught continued, with Quinn roofing a shot top corner at the 18:21 to make it 5-0.

Unlike the four previous goals, the Isles had a quick response, as Palmieri deflected an Anthony Duclair shot past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

There was no third period comeback, with Roy throwing a Hail Mary by pulling Sorokin midway through the frame. Thompson hit a long-range empty netter to effectively end the game, but Kulich scored another for good measure.

“They outworked us tonight. They out competed us. They out outplayed us,” Horvat said. “Especially in the first period and second and throughout the hockey game. It’s just inexcusable.”

ODDS AND ENDS:

• Ilya Sorokin (18 saves) started his 11^th straight game, extending his career-long. Sorokin also took his first regular season penalty by playing the puck outside the trapezoid. Roy was asked why he left Sorokin in net during a blowout, and said the goaltending coaches wanted Sorokin to fight through it.
• The Islanders power play went 0-for-1
• The Islanders penalty kill went 2-for-3
• With the secondary assist on Palmieri’s goal Isaiah George extended his point streak to two games.
• The Islanders home penalty kill is 5-for-11 in the last five home games.
• Monday marked the second Islanders home loss to the Sabres in 15 games (13-2-0).

LINEUP NOTES:

The Islanders iced the same lineup from Saturday’s win in Toronto.

NOTABLE QUOTE:

Anders Lee on having to stew on this game during the holiday break.

This will stick with us for a few days. We don't have an opportunity to go back tomorrow. We don't have an opportunity to play another game quickly. It'll stick and it'll burn. We had an opportunity tonight to play a good hockey game and build off of what we did in Toronto, and we didn't do that at all.”

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders are back in action on Saturday when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first of a back-to-back, home-and-home set between the clubs. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.

Till then, happy holidays from NewYorkIslanders.com!