3 Takeaways: Islanders Beat Blackhawks for Fourth-Straight Win

The New York Islanders extended their win streak to four games with a 3-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night at United Center.
Brock Nelson scored the game-winner for the second consecutive game, Anders Lee netted a power-play goal and Zach Parise iced the game with an empty-netter. Nelson and Parise are both on three-game goal streaks, and Lee is on a three-game point streak. Ross Johnston drew into the lineup with Matt Martin missing the game for the birth of his daughter, Alice. Johnston put up his first point of the season with an assist on Nelson's game-winner.

The Islanders committed five penalties, including one five-minute major, and had four power play opportunities. Head Coach Lane Lambert said he felt the team was shaky in the second period after a strong first, but recovered in the third, scoring two goals to capture the game.
"I thought we did an unbelievable job, killing the five-minute right away," Nelson said. "That's a huge part of the game that could turn things a different way, and then the power play getting us off to a lead. Sorokin did a good job making the saves and then in the third period we did a good job closing it out."

SPECIAL TEAMS MAKE SPECIAL TEAMS:

The Islanders were less than three minutes into the game when Casey Cizikas was issued a five-minute major and a game misconduct on a goaltender interference call that knocked Alex Stalock out of the game. It was a tall order against the league's fifth-ranked power play, but a successful five-minute kill helped the Islanders develop momentum in the second half of the period.
The Islanders drew three penalties of their own, and after two unsuccessful power play attempts, Anders Lee finally buried one late in the third period on their third attempt. Kyle Palmieri took a shot on net, and Brock Nelson collected the rebound and attempted a shot of his own before Lee got the final tap on it for the score.
"(Special teams) can win you a lot of games," Nelson said. "You always want to be ready, and I thought today, getting the five-minute kill right away give you a huge boost, our penalty kill's been great all year. On the power play, we've talked about getting some better looks and getting one to go through and we were able to do that."
The Islanders killed another penalty late in the second period, and drew one immediately after to close the period. But the Islanders conceded a power play goal, just their second of the season, to Jonathan Toews midway through the third period on a tipped shot that eluded a screen and an otherwise great Ilya Sorokin.
The penalty kill came up big again late, killing off Adam Pelech's delay of game penalty with under five minutes to play, finishing 4-for-5 on the night.
"We have guys that have good sticks, and guys that understand the important things," Lambert said. "As a result, give our guys credit and our penalty killers credit, that's why we have success and our goaltender was good again."
Lee's third power-play goal of the season, was just the Islanders' fourth power play goal of the year - and first against a team not named the Florida Panthers. His net-front presence has been an essential piece of the power play so far this year. The Islanders power-play goal snapped an 0-for-9 streak over the past four games.

NELSON ON A HOT STREAK:

Brock Nelson now has goals in three consecutive games, including the game-winner on Tuesday and on Saturday against the Avalanche. Nelson's goal against the Blackhawks came on a breakaway, as Ross Johnston sprung Nelson up ice, and he sniped a glove-side shot on Arvid Söderblom.
ISLANDERS 3, BLACKHAWKS 1
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KINGER'S CALLS
Lee Jams in PPG
Nelson's Snipe
Parise's ENG
Nelson was the Islanders' leading goal-scorer in 2021-22, with a career-high 37 goals, and he tied for the team lead in points with 59 (37G, 22A). Nelson's two-point game against the Blackhawks makes him the Islanders' scoring leader this season, with 11 points (4G, 7A) in ten games. Nelson led all skaters in TOI with 21:37 with the Islanders down a center for much of the game.
"We did a good job of rotating on the penalty kill," Nelson said. "That was a huge five-minute kill for us. Then five on five, we did a good job just filtering through, and mix and matching some wingers. I thought all three of us did a pretty good job of staying fresh even though you're getting some extra ice time."

SOROKIN SHARP AGAIN:

Ilya Sorokin saved 21 of 22 shots in his third consecutive win this season. Sorokin allowed just one goal, on a deflection from Jonathan Toews on the penalty kill.
"The players did a great job the last three games," Sorokin said. "I have just easy pucks, big work from our defensemen and forwards."
Sorokin made a number of critical saves, including on a penalty kill and with the goalie pulled in the dying moments of the third period. His save percentage improved to .935 and his GAA to 2.04, with both marks in the top 10 for goaltenders so far this year.
Sorokin has won his last three starts, stopping 95-of-98 shots over that span, good for a 1.00 GAA, a .969 SV% and one shutout.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders three-game road trip continues in St. Louis on Thursday night. Puck drop is at 8 p.m. eastern.