3 Takeaways: Islanders Show Resolve in 5-3 loss to Avalanche

The New York Islanders dropped a 5-3 result to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night at Ball Arena, as the Islanders concluded their five-game west coast road trip (2-2-1). The game featured a valiant effort from the Islanders, who didn't back down against the NHL's top team, which became the first team this season to reach 40 wins (40-10-4) with the victory.
For the Islanders, Ryan Pulock, Jean-Gabriel Pageau (1G, 1A) and Kyle Palmieri scored, while Zach Parise handed out two assists. Ilya Sorokin made 39 saves on 43 shots in the loss.

For the Avalanche, Andre Burakovsky (1G, 1A) scored the game winner in the third period, while Nathan MacKinnon, former Islander Devon Toews (1G, 2A), Gabriel Landeskog (power play) and Erik Johnson (empty net) also got on the board. Toews, Cale Makar and Nazem Kadri recorded two assists each. Darcy Kuemper backstopped the Avs to victory with 28 saves on 31 shots in the win.
The Islanders utilized the same lineup that dressed in their 4-0 shutout victory over Anaheim on Sunday night - as Mat Barzal (lower body) and Zdeno Chara (upper body) are still day-to-day with injuries. The game featured a solid and admirable performance from the group.
"That's a pretty good team over there," Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "In the first period, we got it stabilized early… The first two periods were pretty even. They got it tied up at the end of a power play, we didn't clear it and it ends up in the back of the net. We had a good response - I thought we scored z- that's just the sequence of events sometimes in the way of hockey."

ISLANDERS SHOW 'NO QUIT' IN TOUGH LOSS

The Avalanche got off to a quick start - and outshot the Islanders 13-8 in the opening period - as MacKinnon provided the icebreaker 3:23 into the game. Makar dropped a pass for the centerman who grabbed the puck, turned and fired his shot past Sorokin's blocker side for his 16th goal of the season. Toews earned his first point of the night with an assist on MacKinnon's strike.
The Islanders weathered the following few minutes as Colorado amplified its intensity and Sorokin was under siege, but they made the most of a break following Landeskog's hooking penalty at 7:57. Despite not converting on their first power play of the game, the Islanders hemmed the Avs in their own zone and a Pulock point shot zipped through traffic and past Kuemper to tie the score 1-1 for the Islanders at 10:03. The goal marked the defenseman's first of the season.

The Islanders flipped the script in the second period with a dominant two-goal effort to take their first lead of the game and a 13-9 shot advantage.
In Toews' first game against his old team - after being traded in October 2020 - the former Islanders defenseman gave the Avs a 2-1 lead early in the second period. The blueliner grabbed a Burakovsky feed in the high slot and wired past Sorokin's blocker side at 3:54.
The Islanders ushered an immediate response and got one back to tie the score 2-2 just 45 seconds after Toews' goal. Pageau benefitted from a misread across Colorado's blueline as he was left all alone to bury Cal Clutterbuck's cross-slot pass on the backdoor at 4:39.
For the first time in the game, the Islanders took the lead 3-2 at 12:23 courtesy of a successful jam-in effort by Palmieri on a rebound.
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KINGER'S CALLS
Pulock's Point Shot
Pageau's Backdoor One Timer
Palmieri Puts in Rebound
The Avalanche responded in the third period, outshooting the Isles 12-0 in the early going and eventually making it a 3-3 game early in the frame as they capitalized on Ross Johnston's holding penalty. Colorado's captain squeaked in a rebound short side of Sorokin on the power play at 4:43. Kadri picked up the primary assist, while Toews earned his second apple of the night.
The Islanders seemingly regained the lead with just over eight minutes left in regulation as Sebastian Aho got off a shot - while falling - that trickled past Kuemper's pads, but the puck straddled the goal line and upon review, was confirmed no goal.
"That was deflating for a couple of seconds," Parise said. "We were pretty sure that was going to be counted as a goal too, so a tough break for us to not come out of that game with a point, since I thought we played a solid game and deserved better."
Shortly after, Burakovsky broke the 3-3 tie with Colorado's go-head goal. From the high slot, the winger's one timer deflected off Andy Greene and past Sorokin's right pad at 12:48 to give the Avs the 4-3 lead.
The Islanders didn't let down and nearly sent the game into overtime with a Pageau shot from the low slot just sailing high off the crossbar on a wide-open Avs net with two minutes left in regulation. But their desperate efforts weren't enough to salvage at least a point in their hard-fought loss as Colorado iced the game with 42 seconds left, scoring on the empty net from Johnson's end-to-end shot.
Despite not getting the win, the Islanders are taking the positives from their five-game road trip and looking to build off them and make the most of their upcoming homestand.
"For the most part, we did a lot of good things," Pulock said. "We played with more energy, created more, played hard and now it's a matter of regrouping here, building on that, going home and finding a way to get on a streak at home."

SOROKIN SOLID IN LOSS

Sorokin showcased an impressive performance against one of the highest-powered offenses in the NHL, but Colorado's big guns still came through. With the loss, Sorokin's record dropped to 17-12-7.
In the first frame, the Islanders netminder was under siege early on as he faced 13 shots. After the Islanders managed to tie the score 1-1 midway through the period, Sorokin came up with some exceptional stops on the Avs' big guns. Following MacKinnon's icebreaker, Sorokin stopped three of his shots including a power-play chance on the doorstep and a wraparound look with five minutes left in the period.

Sorokin continued his solid performance as he stopped nine shots, including a Makar wraparound attempt.
The third period, Sorokin's workload boomed as he faced 21 shots through 20 minutes and faced two Colorado power plays in that frame. With the score tied 3-3 in the third period, Sorokin gloved a Burakovsky wrist shot. Shortly after the Avs' go-ahead goal as Brock Nelson took a slashing penalty at 14:21, Sorokin came up with timely stops on Colorado's power play to keep it a one-goal game.

PRODUCTION FROM PARISE, PAGEAU, PALMIERI LINE

The Parise, Pageau, Palmieri line combined for five points (2G, 3A) and featured a strong performance against the Avalanche. The line made a big impact with their tremendous second-period efforts and contributions to slow down Colorado's high-octane offense and force their blueline to defend their pesky play.

Pageau and Palmieri each found the back of the net, while Parise dished out two helpers.
Pageau's second-period equalizer marked his ninth goal of the season and second in the last three games. Palmieri put away his sixth goal of the season on a tenacious play to bury a rebound for the second period that gave the Islanders their first and only lead of the game.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders return home to UBS Arena for a six-game homestand as they host the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.