Takeaways: Isles Pull Off Gutsy 3-2 OT Win Against Lightning

The New York grinded out their seventh straight win on Saturday night, as they topped the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in overtime.

Tony DeAngelo netted the OT winner 33 seconds into the extra frame, after Adam Boqvist and Kyle Palmieri contributed goals in regulation. Jake Guentzel and Nikita Kucherov scored for the Lightning. Ilya Sorokin made 28 saves for his eighth win in his last nine games, while Andrei Vasilevskiy made 33 saves for the Lightning in the OT loss.

The Islanders (55 points) gained ground on the Lightning (58 points) with the win, drawing within three points of the Bolts for the second wild card spot.

“Everybody’s dialed in, obviously it’s a four-point game if it goes the other way,” DeAngelo said. “Everyone knows where they standings are at and we have a long way to go, but these games mean a lot.”

The Islanders picked up their first regular-season win at Amalie Arena since 2019, snapping a five-game winless streak on the road against the Lightning.

HOW IT HAPPENED

DeAngelo played the hero late, but Sorokin was the story early, as he bailed out the Islanders through stretches where they were hemmed in their own zone. Sorokin stoned Conor Geekie when he nearly had a wide-open net to shoot at, and he came up with a huge save on Jake Guentzel at the doorstep.

“He was phenomenal, especially at the beginning of the game, no doubt about it,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said.

The Islanders began to find their footing midway through the opening frame, but couldn’t bury their chances. The Bolts struck first, as Guentzel deflected an Erik Cernak shot from the point to open the scoring at 5:39 of the middle frame.

The Islanders as a whole had a strong defensive effort. Exhibit A was Pageau, who made an important defensive play by the crease, chopping the puck away from Mitchell Chaffee, who had a wide-open net.

Shortly after, the Isles found the equalizer when Boqvist netted his third goal of the season – and first as an Islander – at 18:15 of the second period. Palmieri found the go-ahead goal seconds after the Isles only power play of the game expired, depositing a feed from Max Tsyplakov who found him from behind the net.

Up 2-1, the Islanders were weathering the storm at 5-on-6, as Sorokin turned aside the first three shots after Vasilevskiy went off to the bench, but Kucherov’s shot deflected off Pageau and found the back of the net through traffic with 47 seconds left in regulation.

“I think we were surprised when they scored,” Roy said. “But I loved how we stayed focused and found a way to win the game.”

A week after DeAngelo hit Bo Horvat with a home-run pass for a breakaway, Horvat returned the favor. Horvat retreated into the Isles zone with the puck and found a DeAngelo on a stretch pass 33 seconds into overtime for the defenseman’s first as an Islander.

“Bo makes a great read, sending it up and I was fortunate enough to finish it,” DeAngelo said.

MAYFIELD, BARZAL SUSTAIN INJURIES

Saturday’s win didn’t come without a cost, as Scott Mayfield left the game in the second period and did not return, and Mathew Barzal went down the tunnel in the final minute of regulation after blocking a shot.

Roy did not have an update on Barzal, or Mayfield, postgame. He did highlight the resilience of his d-core when down a defenseman.

“The group is resilient, we won’t look for excuses and we work hard every night,” Roy said. “That’s how we find success.”

BOQVIST SCORES IN DEBUT

Adam Boqvist made a splash in his Isles debut, coming up with a big goal late in the middle frame to tie the score.

Barzal drove to the net with speed and fired a shot off, but Vasilevskiy made the save. The puck was loose in front for Boqvist to swiftly move past Cernak and bury the rebound, knotting the score at one apiece at 18:15 of the second period. Boqvist’s instincts to drive toward the net and ability to skate past Cernak earned a solid assessment from Roy.

“He scored a nice goal for us,” Roy said of Boqvist. “He was really good, he moved the puck well, he was good on the rush.”

The Swedish defenseman he settled in as the game wore on, finding his footing quickly after a whirlwind of a day after being claimed off waivers the afternoon before his first game.

“When you step on that ice, you don’t think too much, you just want to win your battles and play for your team,” Boqvist said. “You feel more comfortable the more you play with your teammates.”

Boqvist finished his first game as an Islander with one goal, two shots (one on goal, one attempt blocked) and one hit in 10:39 TOI. He started the game on a pair with Mayfield, but jumped into the challenge of skating with five d-men after Mayfield left the game in the second period.

LINEUP NOTES

Pierre Engvall drew into the lineup after sitting for two games as a healthy scratch, in place of Anthony Duclair, who missed the game with an illness. Engvall recorded two shots on goal in 6:52 TOI on a line with Kyle MacLean and Marc Gatcomb.

As a result, Tsyplakov was elevated to a line with Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri.

ODDS AND ENDS

- The Islanders allowed the opening goal for the 32nd time this season.
- Kyle Palmieri has goals in back-to-back games after a 14-game goal drought. It was also the third time the winger scored on his birthday (2018, 2013).
- Simon Holmstrom extended his point streak to three games with five points (3G, 2A) over that span.
- Alexander Romanov recorded a career-high 31:41 TOI.
- In a strong defensive effort all-around, the Islanders penalty kill went 3-for-3 against a team that owns the league’s fifth-best power play that converted at 26.9% heading into Saturday’s contest.
- Over the span of their seven-game winning streak, the Islanders allowed nine goals.

NOTABLE QUOTE

JG Pageau on Adam Boqvist and Tony DeAngelo early into their Isles tenure:

“The new guys, since they’ve been here, they’ve brought a lot of energy. They seem to fit in really well and they want to be part of it to help us to win.”

NEXT GAME

The Islanders will complete a back-to-back set and a three-game road trip in Sunrise when they face the Florida Panthers on Sunday. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m.