The New York Islanders battled for two points, but are coming home with just one in a 2-1 OT loss the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night at Centre Bell.
Nick Suzuki’s overtime goal at 2:39 into the extra frame decided the matchup after Anders Lee scored for the Islanders and Patrik Laine (PPG) scored for the Canadiens in regulation.
Ilya Sorokin turned aside 25 of 27 shots in the overtime loss that extended the Islanders’ point streak to three games (1-0-2), while Sam Montembeault stopped 30 of 31 in the win. The overtime loss marked their seventh OT loss this season for the Islanders and 10th contest beyond 60 minutes this season.
“Every point matters, so we’re happy with one point but we’re not satisfied,” Simon Holmstrom said. “We wanted two points.”
The Habs had better looks in the first period, with a Mike Matheson shot ringing off the post. Sorokin came up big when his team needed him, as he made a flashy glove save on Kaiden Guhle and came up with a big blocker save on Lane Hutson to keep it scoreless after the opening 20.
Hudson Fasching took a high-sticking penalty in the second period and the Canadiens were able to cash in. Laine fired off a wrister from the left circle for his first goal of the season in his long-awaited season debut and Habs debut.
Sorokin continued to keep the Isles in the contest, making a huge stop on Cole Caufield on a breakaway to keep the score 1-0. Throughout a full 60-minute effort, Sorokin continually gave the Isles a chance to win.
“He was great,” Lee said of Sorokin. “Ilya was so solid, had some really good saves and his rebound control was great tonight.”
The Islanders had their best power play in their third opportunity, where they tested Montembeault with four shots on goal in the span of 32 seconds. Though they could not convert, the strong power play gave the Islanders some energy and momentum, as Lee was able to get his team on the board. His initial shot in tight was denied by Montembeault, but in a second effort Lee was able to jam it in from the left side of the crease to tie the score.
“We had more shots on net,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said of his team’s third power play chance. “Good effort by Lee on that goal, he stayed with it. The power play added some momentum and helped us after that.”
After a scoreless third period where Montreal had the slight edge in shots 7-6, the contest was forced into overtime. Suzuki’s initial shot was saved by Sorokin but banked off Bo Horvat’s skates back to the Canadiens captain to bury the rebound to win it for Montreal.
“In overtime they had the puck [for] most of it, but we had our chances,” Roy said. “They scored when it hit Bo’s skates and bounced right on Suzuki’s stick. We had our chances to come up with the win.”
