Winnipeg Beats Islanders 5-4 as Islanders are Concentrating on Having More Fun, Winning is Fun
Winnipeg won the President’s Trophy as the team with the most points in the National Hockey League last season. Winnipeg might have the fewest points in the National Hockey League this year. That has not happened since the New York Rangers in the 1940s.
The Islanders lost this game against the struggling team from Winnipeg, 5-4. Head Coach Patrick Roy has been preaching having fun all season. Winning is fun, and the Islanders should try to do that every game. The standings are packed. Do you think it is possible to determine which teams will make the playoffs?
Winnipeg Against Islanders Summary
Winnipeg is coming into this game with the Islanders coming off a 4-3 win against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday night. In fact, Winnipeg has won two games in a row after losing 11 games in a row. The Islanders are coming off an emotional 4-3 overtime win in Minnesota. Here is a scoring summary from the game.
In the first period, Winnipeg took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Kyle Connor. That was his twenty-second goal of the season. That was how the first period ended. The offensively-challenged Islanders missed their young star, Schafer.
In the second period, Winnipeg scored two goals in just 42 seconds. First, Josh Morrisey gave them a 2-0 lead, then Jonathan Toews, the 37-year-old longtime Chicago Blackhawk, scored on the power play to give Winnipeg a 3-0 lead. Then Anthony Duclair scored for the Islanders to make the game 3-1. Then Emil Heineman scored on a penalty shot to cut the Winnipeg lead to 3-2. Then Kyle McLean tied the game at 3. Dylan Demelo scored for Winnipeg. The Islanders challenged this goal unsuccessfully and then were assessed a two-minute penatly. Then Adam Lowery scored with about 20 seconds left in the period. That made it a 5-3 lead for the Jets.
In the third period, Schafer scored, cutting the Jets’ lead to 5-4. However, the Jets did a good job of pinning the Islanders in their own zone. So much so, the Islanders struggled to pull their goaltender.
A Milestone for Simon Holmstrom
Simon Holmstrom’s first goal of the night tied the Islanders and Wild at 2-2 at the 1:29 mark of the second period. It was his 100th career National Hockey League point. He got an assist in the game and scored the overtime winner. However, that scoring outburst for the Islanders came a little too late for the Swede, who was left off of their Olympic Hockey Team. Nevertheless, he was confident and a key performer for the Islanders.
Schafer Hurt
Islander’s wonderkid Matthew Schafer seemed to get the wind knocked out of him in the first period. The innocuous-looking play in front of the Islanders’ net in the opening minutes of the game resulted in him limping to the bench. He was removed from the game due to the concussion protocol. He missed most of the first period in Winnipeg, but returned before the period ended.
Sorokin Starts
Ilya Sorokin started in goal against Winnipeg. Sorokin is 14-10-2 with a 2.47 goals against average, a .915 save percentage, and four shutouts this season. He has also won two straight starts, stopping 77-of-80 shots over that span. He was opposed by Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who will be on the American Olympic Hockey Team, despite being injured and having relatively poor statistics this season.
For Joy!
Islanders Head Coach Patrick Roy said before the game that joy mattered a lot to winning games. The Islanders did a good job of having joy on their off day on Monday, Jan. 12. Captain Andres Lee hosted the team at his home for a game of pond hockey. The joy is clear for the second-place team.
Frequently Asked Questions
The final score of this game was 5-3 Jets.
Q: The most valuable player of this game was Josh Morrissey of Winnipeg, who was the only player who was +3 in this game.
Q: The turning point of this game was the two late goals in the second period. Particularly, the goal was with 20 seconds left.
Q: The Islanders next play Thursday at 9 p.m. in Edmonton against Connor McDavid and the Oilers. Winnipeg plays Thursday in Minnesota at 8 p.m.
Parting Shots
The Islanders were playing against a struggling team in the Winnipeg Jets. This was a game the Islanders needed to win; however, they fell behind 3-0. They managed to tie up the game, but did not do a good job defending shots from the point, and let this game slip away 5-4.
