The Lightning might be very glad they don’t must face Ilya Sorokin once more this season.
Only a week after Sorokin shut them out at Tampa Bay, the Islanders’ star netminder carried his group to a 3rd win over the Lightning in as many tries on Saturday.
The Islanders had been outplayed, outgunned and outmanned with out Bo Horvat, who remained day-to-day with a lower-body damage.
However due to Sorokin, they took a 3-2 victory on Emil Heineman’s shootout winner and a sweep of the season sequence in opposition to the Lightning for the primary time since 2013.
Mixed with Pat LaFontaine’s emotional induction into the Islanders’ Corridor of Fame, it made for an ideal afternoon for the group.
Not less than for just a few hours, the Islanders had been even atop the Jap Convention, with the Capitals and Hurricanes each enjoying later within the night.
LaFontaine was joyful to level out the connection between himself and celebrity rookie Matthew Schaefer, who shares the identical company, Newport Sports activities, which represented him as a participant.
“He simply turned 18 and I don’t need to say that, however the phrase generational expertise begins to [come up],” LaFontaine mentioned throughout a midgame availability. “We thought he was gonna be actually good. He’s particular. He’s a particular participant.”
That was after Schaefer had already gotten on the board 3:05 into the match, ripping a one-timer previous Jonas Johansson at 4-on-3 on the Islanders’ first shot of the sport.
The Isles’ different star rookie, Cal Ritchie, scored simply seven minutes after Schaefer, with Anthony Duclair feeding him on the frenzy for a 2-0 lead.
The issue for the Islanders was that was just about the one offense they acquired for many of the sport.
Heading into the third, they had been hanging on tight to a 2-1 lead, having been outshot 17-1 within the second interval with Darren Raddysh’s power-play one-timer the one one to attach for the Lightning.
Simply 3:20 into the third, although, J.J. Moser linked from the left circle to tie the sport at two, lastly beating Sorokin with a shot that discovered the roof of the online.
That did nothing to alter the stream of a sport that was all Lightning from the early goings.
At a sure level within the third, it appeared like if the Islanders may get a degree from getting the sport to extra time, it might be greater than they deserved.
Not solely did they get one after Raddysh’s try with about 20 seconds to go hit the put up.
They acquired a second, thanks once more to Sorokin.
The goaltender prolonged the sport right into a shootout with a two-on-one cease on Jake Guentzel in extra time, then bested Johansson within the expertise competitors.
It’s not a really sustainable technique to win, and there have been purple flags all around the Islanders’ sport.
The fourth line struggled, as did a reconstructed second line with Ritchie centering Duclair and Max Shabanov.
There was no cycle sport in any respect, and the breakouts had been a grade under what the Islanders have come to anticipate.
Sorokin, although, was each bit nearly as good because the Islanders have come to anticipate.
And a few nights, that’s sufficient.
