Postgame Wrap-Up: Islanders Capitalize More

The Colorado Avalanche held the New York Islanders to single-digit shot totals each period, but the ones that found twine during power plays seemed to be the difference.
New York scored twice with the man advantage in the second period to stretch its lead and the club eventually defeated Colorado 4-1 at Pepsi Center on Monday night.
The Avalanche finished with a 31-21 edge in shots, as the Islanders fired seven pucks on net each frame, but the home team only converted on one of its five power-play chances and didn't generate enough during 5-on-5 play.

"The whole team, I thought we were just OK. They were the hungrier team tonight," said Avs head coach Jared Bednar. "They did a really nice job defending. We had some good looks, the power play had some good looks, but we didn't capitalize on them and their guys did."
Colorado had a four-minute power play in the second stanza after rookie Josh Ho-Sang got called for two hooking penalties on the same sequence, and the Avalanche also had two more opportunities in the third period. However, none of them produced like the team's first man advantage when Gabriel Landeskog scored on a deflection.
Still, the Avs weren't shy of firing the puck while up a man. Nine of the club's 31 shots came while one the power play, and it could have easily been more.
"I think it was more us and our execution. We were missing some easy passes and missing some easy shots, which get out of the zone," said forward Mikko Rantanen of the club's power play. "It's 82 games, and there are going to be games where it is not clicking. We just have to move forward and forget this one and get back at it on Wednesday."

Colorado is halfway through its four-game homestand and has contests remaining against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday and Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. The Avs play at the Arizona Coyotes the next night before heading into the NHL Holiday Break.
Bednar is looking for his team to be more tenacious in all aspects of its game in the upcoming stretch.
"The urgency has to come back in our game," Bednar said. "I didn't feel like our team was real urgent right from the drop of the puck tonight, and I thought they were. They were the hungrier team, and they're playing well. They're one of the best defensive teams in the Eastern Conference for goals against, so it's hard to come by. At times I think we want it to be easier than what it is going to be."

BARRIE TIES LILES:Tyson Barrie's primary assist on Gabriel Landeskog's deflected goal in the second period was the 207th of his career, and he is now tied with John-Michael Liles for the most assists by a defenseman in franchise history.
"Johnny was obviously a great player, and there has been some great D that have come through here," Barrie said of tying Liles' record. "It's cool for me and I'll take pride in it, but it would have been a lot sweeter if it was a better outcome. The focus of this team is on team performance, and the individual stuff comes along with that. So that is nice, but we got a lot of work ahead of us."
Barrie, who also has 65 goals and 272 points in his career, is also closing in on Liles' franchise mark for points (275) and Sandis Ozolinsh's Avalanche/Nordiques D-man record for goals (72).

END OF THE LINE: Mikko Rantanen's career-long point streak came to an end in the 4-1 loss.
Rantanen recorded eight goals and 19 assists during the 14-game run that began a month ago on Nov. 18. It is presently tied for the second-longest point streak in the NHL this season and was tied for the third longest in Avalanche history (since 1995-96). Paul Stastny's 20 contests (Feb. 3 to March 17, 2007) and Alex Tanguay's 16-game run (Feb. 6 to March 7, 2003) were the only ones longer for the Burgundy and Blue.
"It's a long time," Rantanen said of the streak. "My linemates have been helping, like I've been saying in every interview, but the team has helped me too. I don't really think about it much because there are so many games left. Our goal is to stay in the top three in our division and make the playoffs."
Rantanen remains the league leader with 41 assists and 56 points through 34 outings.
INJURY UPDATES:Defenseman Conor Timmins and forward Alex Kerfoot took part in the Avalanche's morning skate in red, non-contact jerseys, and they both stayed out on the ice for the entire team session.
"We'll see where that leads, I don't know exactly," Bednar said of Timmins' progress. "He is still dealing with some things. Hopefully that is a step in the right direction for him, and Kerfoot is back out there today. Hopefully Kerfoot can join the team in a full practice tomorrow."
Timmins has yet to play this season as he continues to recover from a concussion he suffered during the Ontario Hockey League Playoffs last spring while with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Kerfoot has missed the last four games with an upper-body injury.
DRIES RECALLED:Forward Sheldon Dries was recalled earlier in the day and joined the Avalanche from the American Hockey League's Colorado Eagles for the game against the Islanders.
Dries began the night centering the club's fourth line with Gabriel Bourque and Colin Wilson on the wings. It was his 16th contest of the season with the Avs.
In corresponding moves, the Avalanche reassigned defenseman Mark Alt and forward A.J. Greer to Loveland.
MORE NOTES:Gabriel Landeskog's goal was his 22nd of the season, which is the fourth most in the NHL and leads the Avs. He has eight goals and seven assists in the last 10 games.
Nathan MacKinnon finished with an assist to extend his point streak to six games. He has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) through that stretch and now has 53 points (21 goals, 32 assists) in 2018-19, maintaining the No. 2 spot in the league in scoring.
J.T. Compher had a season-high 21:20 of ice time.
Carl Soderberg matched a season high with three blocked shots (also Oct. 6, 2018 vs. Philadelphia).