San Jose Sharks Fall To New York Islanders 4-3

Kevin Sweeney

The Sharks came into the game tonight as the only winless team in the National Hockey League. The Islanders needed to capitalize on this weakness in their schedule before facing the surprisingly strong Detroit Red Wings. The Islanders won this game against the Sharks 4-3.

The Sharks are a sloppy team, and the Islanders took advantage. If the Islanders are to make the playoffs, they will need to beat bad teams. That said, in this game against the Sharks, there were a few concerning things and some very good things. It was a mixed bag. Do you think the Islanders will make the playoffs this year?

Sharks Lose To Islanders 4-3

Here is the scoring summary of the 4-3 Islanders win against the Sharks. In the first period, the Sharks took a 1-0 lead on Colin Graf’s goal. There were four more goals scored in the first period. Then, Bo Hrovat scored on the power play, knotting the game at 1. Then, Casey Cizikas scored for the Islanders, giving them a 2-1 lead. That lead did not last long as Adam Gaudette scored for the Sharks, tying the game at 2. Finally, Emi Heineman scored for the Islanders, giving them a 3-2 lead. That is how the sloppy period ended.

In the second period, Matthew Schaefer scored for the Islanders. That gave them a 4-2 lead. In the third period, Macklin Celebrini scored for the Sharks, cutting the Islanders’ lead to 4-3.

Matthew Schaefer

In the first period, Matthew Schaefer got a point in his sixth consecutive game to start his career. He added a goal in the second period. Doing so put him in rare company. A four-player group including Wayne Gretzky. He is only 18, and he is a defenseman. That is great. Needless to say, he is leading all rookies in scoring. Islander Head Coach Patrick Roy is trying to play Schaefer less, but he played well on the power play and the penalty kill. He played well over 20 minutes.

Power Play

The Islanders scored two power-play goals in the first period.  This was very good as the Islanders were next to last in the National Hockey League last season. It is safe to say they will not be that bad this season. They need to keep pressing with the man advantage. Hockey teams take advantage of the man-up situations, and good hockey teams do so about 30% of the time. The Islanders even killed three penalties.

A Bit Of a Worry

The Sharks and Islanders played a sloppy first period. It seemed the Islanders played down to the level of their competition. Things got better in the rest of the game, but if the Islanders want to be considered in the upper half of the league, they cannot play down to the level of one of the worst teams in the National Hockey League. That was the problem when they first started. They looked like they did not want to be there.

News and Notes

  • Ilya Sorokin started this game for the Islanders. The embattled goaltender, who had given up 4 goals in each game this year, played a little better tonight.
  • The Islanders looked to gain in the standings; however, the rest of the league did not cooperate.
  • Speaking of the rest of the league, there was a big game tonight as Brad Marchand returned to Boston. He played there for 16 years before being traded to the Florida Panthers last season.
  • The Islanders host the red-hot Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. Detroit came into tonight 5-1.
  • In this game, the Islanders were outshot 36-27, and they lost almost 60% of the face-offs.
  • This game was interesting because of Schaefer and Sharks Forward Michael Misa in the game. Misa was the second overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
  • This is the first of two meetings between the Islanders and Sharks. The second one is in March, the day after the NHL trade deadline.

Conclusion

This was a good game for the Islanders against a bad team in the San Jose Sharks. It was important for the Islanders to win this game. The Islanders need to get points against bad teams. They host a good team in the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday at 7 p.m.

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