New Jersey Devils Lose to New York Islanders 3-2 in OT

The Devils are in first place in the Metropolitan Division and were always going to be a tough matchup for the Islanders. They had not lost at home this season yet. The Devils are the last local stop for the Islanders, who travel to Las Vegas to play the talented Golden Knights on Thursday. The Islanders won this game against New Jersey, 3-2 in overtime. Now they head out west. How many points do you think the Islanders will get in this five-game Western Swing?

Devils Lose To Islanders 3-2 In Overtime

Here is the scoring summary of the 3-2 overtime loss to the Islanders.  In the first period, Timo Meier scored for the Devils, and it was 1-0. It was a power play goal. That is how the first period ended.

In the second period, the red-hot Bo Horvat scored for the Islanders, knotting the game at one. That was his 12th goal of the season. That was how the period ended.

In the third period, Kyle Palmieri scored. That gave the Islanders a late 2-1 lead. There were 2:53 left in the game. That was a power play goal, and youngster Matthew Schaefer got an assist. The goal was a power play goal. Then Simon Nemec scored with 4.7 seconds left. The game was tied at two and went to overtime.

In overtime, Barzal scored to give the Islanders the win. The goal came just 1:17 seconds into the period. That was the Devils’ first home loss this season.

Sorokin’s Historic Outing

Ilya Sorokin secured his 23rd career shutout his last time out, moving him into sole possession of second place in franchise history in terms of shutouts, breaking a tie with Billy Smith.  Sorokin is two shutouts away from tying Chico Resch for the most in franchise history. The 5-0 win against the rival Rangers was easily his best outing of the season. The win also snapped Sorokin’s seven-game winless streak against the Rangers.

Red Hot Horvat

Horvat scored another two goals on Saturday night against the Rangers, marking his third multi-goal performance of the young season. He also extended his point streak to five games. He has 5 goals and 2 assists over that span. Horvat leads the Islanders in scoring with 18 points. His 11 goals tie Sidney Crosby, Cutter Gauthier, and Morgan Geekie for third in the NHL.

News and Notes

Sorokin started Monday night against New Jersey. He is coming off a strong 33-save shutout on Saturday night. Sorokin is 2-0-1 in his last three games against the Devils, with his most recent outing being a 25-save shutout on April 13.  Jacob Markstrom started for the Devils. Markstrom is 4-2-0 this season with a 3.95 goals against average and an .871 save percentage. Markstrom is 1-1-0 against the Islanders since joining the Devils with a 1.97 goals against average and a .911 save percentage.

Maxim Tsyplakov was again in the lineup tonight. This is interesting because he is struggling. He played for the first time since October 30 against the Rangers.

It was surprising to see the Islanders tied 1-1 with the Devils midway through the third period. The Devils had four power plays, while the Islanders had one. That is unusual. The referees try to even out the power plays. Sorokin was the best penalty killer, as it should be.

Conclusion

This game against the Devils was difficult for the Islanders. They had to play the first-place team in the Metropolitan Division before heading west for five games. Nevertheless, the scrappy Islanders hung in the game and prevailed in overtime, 3-2. They next play on Thursday night in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights.