The New York Islanders bested the Seattle Kraken.

Seattle Kraken Fall To New York Islanders 1-0 In Sleepy Game At UBS Arena

Kevin Sweeney

The Kraken are overachieving this year under the new head coach, and former Islanders coach, Lane Lambert. Both the Kraken and the Islanders were playing the back half of a back-to-back. This is a game the Islanders needed to win, coming off a loss to the St. Louis Blues at home. If the Islanders want to make the playoffs, they need to beat teams like the Kraken, especially at home.

They were able to in this game, prevailing 1-0 in a game with few shots and little excitement. The Islanders got some bad news before their game against the Kraken. Forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau was out of the lineup and is week-to-week. He is a face-off specialist who is a dangerous penalty killer. He is also a veteran on an expiring contract whom the Islanders hope to trade. Do you think the Islanders will be hurt by their mounting injuries?

Kraken Fall To Islanders 1-0

The Kraken are coming off a 3-2 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night. Brandon Montour scored the overtime winner, while Matty Beniers and Mason Marchment scored in regulation for the Kraken. Seattle has won two straight games and is 4-1-0 in their last five games. Here is a scoring summary of the game.

In the first period, there were no goals. In fact, the Islanders and Kraken combined for only twelve shots. It was a period where both teams, who were playing their second consecutive game, looked tired. In the second period, there was a bit more excitement, but there were also no goals scored. One had to wonder if that was a product of great goaltending or was the result of few (30) shots. Probably, a little of both.

In the third period, there were also no goals. Regulation ended in a scoreless tie. The game headed to overtime. Overtime ended scoreless as well. The game was going to be resolved in a shootout. Kyle Palmieri scored the game-winner in the fourth round.

News and Notes

  • Head Coach Patrick Roy announced David Rittich as the starter for Sunday’s game against the Kraken. Rittich is 5-2-0 this season with a 2.99 goals against average and a .896 save percentage. Rittich boasts a 2.76 goals against average and a .904 save percentage at UBS Arena this season. In five career games against the Kraken, Rittich is 4-1-0 with a 2.58 goals against average and .853 save percentage. Ilya Sorokin started yesterday afternoon against the Blues.
  • Joey Daccord started in goal for the Kraken. He played well. This season, Daccord is 7-3-3 with a 2.78 goals against average, .900 save percentage, and a shutout. Seattle’s goaltender is 2-0-0 against the Islanders in his career with a 2.00 goals against average and a .925 save percentage in those games.
  • Kraken Forward Jordan Eberle was a beloved Islander. He is the captain for Seattle.
  • Both teams are playing the second half of a back-to-back set on Sunday, as the Kraken played on Saturday night in Pittsburgh. Back-to-back games are due to the compressed National Hockey League schedule because of the Olympics. The Islanders are 1-3-0 in the first game of back-to-back sets this season and 3-0-0 in the second game. The Kraken are 0-2-0 on the second half of back-to-back sets this season.
  • This was the second game of the season-long seven-game homestand for the Islanders.
  • Lambert is in his first season as the Kraken’s head coach. Lambert was previously the Islanders’ Head Coach from 2022-24. He went 61-46-20 over two seasons in that role. Lambert spent four years as the Islanders’ Associate Coach from 2018 to 2022. Lambert was the Associate Coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Mounting Injuries For Islanders

For the Islanders, there are mounting injuries. They are not a good enough hockey team to survive many Injuries. Defenseman Alexander Romanov is expected to miss five to six months after taking a vicious hit from Mikko Rantanen. The Islanders do not have the defensive depth to withstand injuries to their defensive corps.

Conclusion 

This was a close game that was squeaked out by the Islanders. A 1-0 win is a win, nonetheless. The Islanders next play on Wednesday against the Boston Bruins. It is Mathew Barzal bobblehead night. The bobblehead of Barzal has a lot of hair, all sticking up.

Kevin Sweeney is a published author. He has written 5 books to date: Trapped (an autobiography), Back to School (a guide to stroke recovery), One State, Two State, Red State, Blue State (Presidential elections), Coaching Baseball (all about baseball), and an associated workbook. Kevin has a Ph.D. in political science; he has published 12 scholarly articles. He lives in Purcellville, VA, with his 3 sons and wife, Kelly. They were married in 2000.

You can get his books here:
https://amazon.com/author/drkevinjsweeney

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