3 Takeaways: Islanders Snap Skid with 5-3 Win over Ottawa

Put it in the win column.
The New York Islanders defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-3 on Tuesday night at Canadian Tire Centre. In doing so, the Islanders snapped an 11-game winless (0-8-3) stretch and in turn, extended their point streak to four games (1-0-3).

"This group takes a lot of pride in how we play, how we perform and where we've been," Anders Lee said. "This was a shot to us and very tough mentally to grind out. There are times where it never feels like it'll go your way and the only way to get out of something like this is sticking together, sticking with the program, having each other's backs and seeing that the last few nights, we broke through tonight. Now we can put this stretch behind us and really start to build off of it."
Lee scored twice while Oliver Wahlstrom, Kieffer Bellows and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also found the back of the net. Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves on 33 shots.
For Ottawa, Josh Norris scored on the power play, while Nick Holden scored at even strength and Alex Formenton added a shorthanded goal. Filip Gustavsson made 22 saves on 27 shots in the loss.

ISLANDERS RALLY TOGETHER, GET THE RESULT

Building on the next game, next opportunity, next shift has been the Islanders' focus as of late and after coming agonizingly close in three straight they broke through on Tuesday night,. It was a major relief to get a win for the group who has had to overcome so much adversity over the past few weeks via a COVID-19 outbreak and injuries. But they did so and they did it together.
ISLANDERS 5, SENATORS 2
ISLANDERS ARTICLES
Gamecenter
Rapid Recap
PHOTOS: Islanders 5, Senators 3
ISLANDERS-SENATORS VIDEO
Full Highlights

Postgame: Pageau and Czarnik
Postgame: Bellows and Lee
"It's incredible to think what we've gone through in this last month," Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "I've never gone through it, these guys have never gone through it. The way they stuck together and battled, they did it. They finally got rewarded."
After a scoreless and sleepy first period where the Islanders were outshot 9-3 by the Senators, they came out with a dominant, determined and effective second period and maintained that effort throughout the final 40 minutes. The Islanders not only showed confidence in their offensive game but ushered quick responses to diminish any counter momentum the Senators generated.
"The second period we came out with better juice," Trotz said. "We jumped on them, we started creating some loose pucks. We scored a goal and then we followed it up with a goal right away. If you think about this whole [winless] stretch that we had, we'd score a goal, get some life on the bench and before they'd announcer could get the goal scorer's name out, we would give up a goal on the next shift. [Tonight] we followed it up and scored. The momentum was good."

Upon taking a 1-0 lead, the Islanders showed resolve and were able to rally back when the Sens tied the score up 1-1 in the frame and responded with by taking a 3-1 lead heading into the final 20 minutes of play, where they added another goal to their final score.
Lee got the scoring going with the game's icebreaker just three minutes into the second period. The Islanders' captain made the most of a solid shift where he and his linemates Mathew Barzal and Josh Bailey were working Ottawa's zone. The fortuitous looks paid off as Lee collected a feed from Bailey in the low slot, spun and ripped a shot. He redirected his own rebound off the backboards by beating Gustavsson with a backhander.
"When things aren't going well, the puck is not going your way it's hard for us to find a goal," Lee said. "That's [the net front is] where they end up usually coming out of. Over and over getting the puck there, getting guys there, tonight we got some open looks in front of the net and we were able to get them to go. It's nice when we can get a bounce."
Ottawa equalized the score at 9:44 as Scott Mayfield was assessed with a double minor for high sticking Norris. The Sens power play went to work during the four-minute advantage and beat Sorokin on a slick passing sequence where Norris launched a one-timer from the right faceoff circle.

Unlike other moments throughout their 11-game winless stretch with the score tied, the Islanders didn't sit back. Instead, they pressed hard and got to the net. Wahlstrom doubled the Islanders lead 2-1 at 14:06. Austin Czarnik made a pinch to keep possession, while Bellows popped the puck down to Wahlstrom in the slot. The winger flashed some slick stick work and flipped the puck over an out-of-position Gustavsson.
On the next shift - and just 27 seconds later - the Islanders extended their lead 3-1 on somewhat of a fluke play. Barzal circled in and swatted down a long-range shot off the glass taken by Adam Pelech. Lee jammed in Barzal's redirect past Gustavsson for his second goal of the night and sixth goal of the season.
The Islanders' third period effort followed suit as they outscored Ottawa 2-1 en route to their final 5-2 score.
Bellows tallied his first goal of the season as he finished off a tic-tac-toe play from his linemates Czarnik and Wahlstrom at 6:26. After Ottawa cut the Islanders' lead down 4-2 at 8:11, as Holden's shot deflected off Noah Dobson's skate and past Sorokin, the Islanders responded.

As emotions intensified, and Cal Clutterbuck and Tkachuk for Ottawa were issued penalties at 12:21, Pageau extended the Islanders' lead to 5-2 as both teams played four-on-four. In front of his former club and hometown, Pageau gathered and redirected a long-range shot from Scott Mayfield at 12:26.
The Islanders' three-goal lead was short lived as Ottawa scored shorthanded at 15:54. The Sens forced a turnover on the Islanders' power play unit and jetted up the ice for an odd-man rush. Formenton wired a wrist shot past Sorokin.
"Elements that test you as a group, that test your poise and all that, I thought we matched it pretty good today." Trotz said.

SOROKIN IMPROVES RECORD WITH SOLID PERFORMANCE

The Islanders netminder was solid in his sixth win of the season as he improved his record to 6-6-4. At times during this 11-game winless stretch, Sorokin has been 'fantastic' per Trotz, so it was fitting that he was in between the pipes to help his team get over the draining toll of going 11 games without a win.

Sorokin's performance was a crucial factor in the Islanders' win. The 26-year-old gave his team a chance, especially after the Senators' strong first period.
In the opening frame, Sorokin made critical stops on both of Ottawa's power play chances including denying a one-time blast from Tim Stützle. He later smothered a two-on-one rush between Connor Brown and Stützle near the end of the first period. In the second period when the Islanders held a 1-0 lead, Sorokin stoned a chance from Ottawa's captain Brady Tkachuk on the doorstep. He continued his strong performance as the Islanders were outshot 13-9 in that middle frame.
Despite the Senators' push in the third period and their two goals, Sorokin stayed solid even when they pulled their netminder in exchange for in extra skater in the final minute.

MORALE BOOST

"We got out of it together."
While it wasn't a perfect game and there were some flaws, Tuesday's win showcased a top-to-bottom execution by the pesky Islanders, who got back to their identity and were rewarded for the honest effort.
"To get this win tonight, it definitely takes some pressure off everyone's shoulder," Pageau said. "Now we can look back on that stretch and how we got out of it. We got out of it together and that's what made us successful tonight."
In total, nine different skaters got on the scoresheet for the Islanders. At times, the Islanders were rolling all four lines and displayed a gutsy, high-character effort. Most importantly, they rallied around each other to pick each other up out of this winless skid.
And while some players didn't make it on the scoresheet, there were spirited efforts up and down the lineup. Zach Parise nearly scored his first goal of the season on a shorthanded breakaway in the second period. Noah Dobson took exception to a hit Stützle laid on Anthony Beauvillier and stood up for his teammate by dropping the gloves.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders look to keep the momentum going and hopefully get their first win on home ice as they head back to Long Island to take on the Nashville Predators on Thursday night at UBS Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.