Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
NHL: New Jersey Devils at New York Islanders
The Islanders took their second loss of the season to the New Jersey Devils last night 4-1 at UBS Arena on Long Island.
The Isles looked like they had cinder blocks for skates as soon as the puck dropped. They found themselves a man down and in near trouble early on in the first period. Captain Anders Lee went to the box for a tripping minor just 2:15 into the action. As the power play expired, both Zach Parise and Adam Pelech got caught puck watching in their own zone. Devils’ captain Nico Hischier flew into the offensive zone around Parise and dished a pass to left winger Jesper Bratt who fired the one timer pass off the right goal post.
The Devils overwhelming pressure and the flat footed effort by the Islanders seemed to be the theme of the game.
If it wasn’t for the Islanders Russian sensation Ilya Sorokin between the pipes, this game could have looked much worse on the box score. The Devils sent a flurry of shots (14) at Sorokin in the first period alone and he stopped them all.
However, that would not last long as the Devils started to do damage just 1:35 into the second period. Defenseman Damon Severson sent a crisp pass right up the middle of the ice to center Jack Hughes who blew right by defenseman Robin Salo and capitalized through Sorokin’s five hole.
The Islanders simply could not connect with each other in the offensive zone. Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin was left hung out to dry on numerous occasions in the game, but despite the relentless pressure the 27-year old was able to stop 39 of the Devils’ 42 total shots.
The Devils big off-season acquisition, winger Ondrej Palat cashed in two of the four goals. Meanwhile, the lone goal for the Islanders came from Anders Lee in the backend of the third period.
The Islanders look to get back on track when they travel to Tampa to face the Lightning Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
