3 Takeaways: Islanders' Response Earns 4-1 Win over Senators

The New York Islanders got back in the win column with a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night at UBS Arena.
Anthony Beauvillier scored a power-play goal, while Oliver Wahlstrom, Mathew Barzal and Adam Pelech also found the back of the net and Scott Mayfield dished out two assists. Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves on 27 shots in the win. The Islanders also got a boost to their blueline as Ryan Pulock returned to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 15 after being sidelined with a lower-body injury.

Nick Holden scored the Senators' sole goal, while Anton Forsberg made 26 saves on 30 shots in the loss.
Despite going down 1-0 early in the first period, the Islanders showed resolve and rallied back with four unanswered goals to get an important win that snapped their back-to-back losses from piling up any further.
"Once it was 1-0 our game ramped up, I liked the response," Islanders Head Coach Barry said. "I liked the response of our power play at the end of the first period, that was pretty huge. That got us to even ground after one. Our game ramped up… I liked the contributions of our defense tonight, Pelech and Mayfield got some points. And I thought we got some real timely saves that we needed and both our special teams came through."

ISLANDERS RATTLE OFF FOUR-STRAIGHT GOALS TO SECURE THE WIN

For the fifth-straight game, the Islanders surrendered the opening goal and were thus forced to come from behind as Ottawa scored the game's icebreaker at 1:56. Holden grabbed a cross-slot pass from Tyler Ennis and put his shot on net. Sorokin made the initial stop, but the puck bounced off his shoulder, over his glove and trickled past the goal line to give the Senators a 1-0 lead.
The Islanders executed a responsive effort as they trailed 1-0 and continued that commanding play for the remainder of the game. They would go on to finish the first period with a tied 1-1 and a 14-8 shot advantage.

Their persistence paid off late in the first frame on their second power-play attempt as a series of rebound attempts around the net front popped out on the backdoor for Beauvillier to bury the loose puck at 18:07, marking his seventh goal of the season and third on the power play.
"I liked the response of our power play at the end of the first period," Trotz said. "That was huge for us. Lately, we've been digging ourselves in a hole here. That got us to even ground."
The second period featured a decisive showing from the Islanders, who made the most of their opportunities with two goals that extended their lead 3-1."
Following a tremendous stop by Sorokin under the midway point in the period, the Islanders earned their first lead of the game from Wahlstrom's tally at 8:42. A strong forechecking effort allowed the Islanders to circulate the puck low-to-high for a point shot from Zdeno Chara. At the netfront, Wahlstrom's initial redirect was denied by Forsberg, but the winger stuck with it and buried the follow-up attempt for his 10th goal of the season and second goal in as many games.

Barzal then buried his 10th goal of the season and third goal in the last four games to give the Islanders a 3-1 lead at 15:50 in the middle frame. Barzal was on the receiving end of a brilliant diagonal pass from Mayfield, where he beat Forsberg with a blistering one timer from the left faceoff circle.
In the third period, the Islanders locked it down. They even upped their lead to 4-1 at 7:44 as both teams played four-on-four as a result of tripping penalties administered to Ottawa's Clark Bishop and Matt Martin at 5:53.
Pelech - who will represent the Islanders at the 2022 All-Star Game this weekend in Las Vegas - flexed the offensive side of his game. Along the half wall, Pelech faked a shot and left a drop pass for Jean-Gabriel Pageau and then circled down to the net front. Pageau switched the puck over to Mayfield, who dished out his stellar second cross-ice pass to find Peelch down low, where he made a slick move to lift his backhand over Forsberg.

"Scotty has always been a pretty good passer since I've been here," Trotz said of Mayfield. "When I first got here, he'd look for that home-run play all the time. Now, he's like a good quarterback. He's learned you don't have to throw for the touchdown all the time. You can throw those 15-yard, 10-yard passes. He makes way better decisions. His passes have always been good. He always gets his shots through. He had a real strong game. Him and Pelech were really good tonight."

SOROKIN STAYS SHARP IN WIN

Despite allowing the opening goal, Sorokin was sharp for the remainder of the game as he came up with timely and pivotal stops during his 26-save performance in order to earn his 13th win of the season and improve his record to 13-8-5.
In the first period on a four-on-four - as Ottawa's Tim Stutzle took a slashing penalty and Wahlstrom was assessed for roughing at 2:40 - Sorokin came up with a clutch blocker save to hold off a look from Senators defenseman Erik Brannstrom.

"He was big again," Mayfield said. "He's been doing that all season for us. He makes the saves he has to and then he makes the extra special ones too. When he's going like that and we can provide some extra offense for him too it's a good night."
In the second period, as the score was tied 1-1, Sorokin bailed his team out from a misplay in their offensive zone that sprung a breakaway for Ottawa's Alex Formenton. Sorokin sprawled out across the crease to hold off Formenton's attempt at under seven minutes into the period, which allotted the Islanders the chance to redeem themselves with Wahlstrom's go-ahead goal a little over a minute later.
ISLANDERS 4, SENATORS 1
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KINGER'S CALLS
Beauvillier's PPG
Wahlstrom Buries His Own Rebound
Sorokin's Clutch Save
Barzal's One Timer
The Islanders' netminder came up with a strong final 20 minutes of play as he faced his biggest workload of the night with 11 shots from the Senators in the third period and held off all of them.

PULOCKED AND LOADED AND BACK IN THE LINEUP

Pulock returned to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 15 after sustaining a lower-body injury that sidelined the Islanders' defenseman for the last 25 games and had put him on LTIR. Prior to his injury, the 27-year-old blueliner had totaled two assists through 12 games.
"It was good to see Ryan back in there," Trotz said. "When a guy comes in the lineup from 11 weeks, who is probably a little bit rusty and there's some catching up to do. Obviously, there's probably some adrenaline, I knew Ryan would be fine. He was fine tonight. We missed that big strong element back there."
In his return - and first time playing at UBS Arena - Pulock 15:08 of time on ice, skated alongside Andy Greene, quarterbacked one of the Islanders' two power-play units where he logged 1:57, posted three shots and three blocks.
Pulock utilized his 6-foot-2, 215-pound frame to unleash his signature one timer from the point which set up a flurry of rebounds that led to Beauvillier's finish on the Islanders' power play in the first period.
As Pulock returned, the Islanders placed rookie defenseman Robin Salo on their taxi squad.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders conclude their seven-game homestand as they play their final game before the All-Star break tomorrow night against the Seattle Kraken at UBS Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.