3 Takeaways: Islanders Lose Leads in 5-3 Loss to Rangers

Thursday's 5-3 loss to the New York Rangers was an uncharacteristic one for the New York Islanders.
Heading into Thursday's tilt - unfortunately the last one between the crosstown rivals this season - the Islanders were 11-0-0 when leading after two periods of play and held a 3-2 advantage going into the final frame.

While closing out games has been the Islanders calling card over the past five years, they couldn't keep the Rangers down, losing 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 leads. Perhaps most uncharacteristically, the Islanders allowed three straight third period goals, including Kaapo Kakko's game-winner with 2:47 to play.
"You expect to close it and that's what we were trying to do," JG Pageau said. "It didn't go our way we have to turn the page and learn from it. We're back at it tomorrow."
As a result, the Islanders season-long five-game road trip ended 1-2-2, taking home four of a possible 10 points, albeit against top competition in four of the five games. While they were able to take points from Boston and Colorado in shootout losses - and ultimately took the season series with the Rangers two games to one - letting two points get away to a Metropolitan Division rival stung, as the Washington Capitals also leapfrogged them in the standings.
"We just have to look ahead," Head Coach Lane Lambert said. "We certainly feel like we've got a few more points out of [the road trip]."

PENALTIES COST ISLANDERS:

Penalties proved to be the difference in Thursday's affair, as the Isles were shorthanded for a season-high tying six times.
RANGERS 5, ISLANDERS 3
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Postgame: Lambert
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Technically, the Rangers went 1-for-6 with the man advantage, with Panarin scoring on a one-timer in the first period, but Kakko's eventual winner - a quick shot on a backdoor feed from K'Andre Miller - came just six seconds after a Scott Mayfield penalty expired and before the defenseman could meaningfully re-join the play.
"We were behind the eight ball quite a bit with how much we were in the box," Lee said. "Our killers did a phenomenal job to kill that last one off at the end and they were just able to get a puck and pop one."
In addition to ceding a power-play goal and a de facto power-play goal, the time shorthanded limited the Islanders offensive opportunities and gave the Rangers momentum. The Rangers finished the game with 13 shots on the man advantage, while the Isles only generated 15 at even strength, though that number didn't include a pair of posts by Brock Nelson and JG Pageau. Two of the Islanders six penalties on Thursday were delay of game calls for putting the puck over the glass.
"We took too many penalties," Lambert said. "They thrive off their power play, their power play did a good job and they got momentum."

BARZAL CONTINUES TO BRING IT VS RANGERS:

Mathew Barzal continued his strong play against the Rangers with a goal and an assist on Thursday night.
Barzal scored a beauty in the second period, getting sprung on a breakaway after Josh Bailey forced a Kakko turnover inside the Islanders blue line. Barzal was off to the races, pulled a forehand-backhand deke on Igor Shesterkin for his fifth goal of the season.
The Islanders center also set up Alex Romanov's first goal as an Islander, curling back towards the half wall and feeding the defenseman for a one-timer at the point. Romanov's knuckler eluded both a Hudson Fasching screen and Shesterkin to put the Islanders up 3-1 at the time.
In the process, Barzal upped his career totals to 33 points (9G, 24A) in 27 games against the Blueshirts. Romanov also finished the game with an assist on Anders Lee's icebreaker, but also took a pair of penalties.
Barzal was also on the ice for Kakko's winning goal, as a puck that was rimmed around the boards took an unfortunate hop off his stick right to Miller who threw it across the ice for the backdoor goal.

CIZIKAS LEAVES GAME:

Casey Cizikas left Thursday's game in the second period and did not return. Lambert did not have an update on Cizikas postgame.
The center played 7:31 before exiting the game and was 1-for-8 in the faceoff circle.
Cal Clutterbuck (IR, upper body) and Kyle Palmieri (DTD, upper body) both missed their third straight games, while Adam Pelech (IR, upper body) missed his seventh.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders play the second half of a back to back set on Friday night when they host the Florida Panthers. It's 90s Night as the Isles wrap up their pre-Christmas schedule. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.