3 Takeaways: Islanders Soar Past Ducks in Shutout Win

The New York Islanders got back in the win column as they shut out the Anaheim Ducks 4-0 on Sunday night at Honda Center to conclude the California portion of their five-game road trip and close out their back-to-back set.
The game marked the first meeting between the two clubs for the first time since November 25, 2019.
Noah Dobson, Casey Cizikas (1G, 1A), Andy Greene and Kieffer Bellows each scored for the Islanders, while Ilya Sorokin made 34 saves shots to claim his fifth shutout of the season.

Greene and Josh Bailey returned to the lineup in place of Mathew Barzal (lower body) and Zdeno Chara (upper body) - who are both listed as day-to-day after sustaining injuries against Los Angeles last night - while Ross Johnston (2A) replaced Matt Martin.
Anthony Stolarz made 18 saves on 22 shots in the loss for Anaheim.
The victory featured a better all-around performance from the Islanders, who had looked to build off a season-high 47-shot performance in their 4-3 shootout loss two games ago to San Jose, but instead fell flat and suffered a 5-2 loss to the LA Kings on Saturday night.
"It was a good response," Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "We knew we could be better than we were last night. I just liked our attitude. We just said, 'You know what? Let's just play some hockey here.' It was a good response by everyone here."

LINE CHANGES SPARK CONTRIBUTIONS IN DECISIVE WIN

With the losses of their leading scorer in Barzal and Chara - and Greene and Johnston drawing back in the lineup - the Islanders' lineup while retooled, was effective and showed no fatigue as they closed out their back-to-back set. The win featured immediate impacts from the players who returned to the lineup as well as committed play and stingy defense from the group.
Bailey returned to the lineup for the first time since Feb. 22 after being healthy scratched for two-straight games, while both Greene and Johnston drew back in the lineup for the first time since Feb. 12.
Bailey, who normally plays right wing, shifted to center and skated between Kieffer Bellows and Oliver Wahlstrom. Greene was paired with Noah Dobson. Johnston - who posted his first-career multi-point outing in his 100th-career game - skated alongside Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck, where the trio combined for five points (1G, 4A).

"Andy stepped up, he's an experienced guy," Trotz said. "He was excited to get back in the lineup, he was refreshed a little bit. I thought he made really good decisions and contributed from a defensive standpoint and from an offensive standpoint, he got rewarded with a goal. I thought [Johnston] came in and gave us some good legs, some weight. He made a really good play on the Cizikas goal. And we had some good commitment… The kids contributed at the end and [Bailey] helped out. We had contributions right through the lineup."
The Islanders' win featured a goal in each period. To start off, the Islanders survived the chippy opening frame - where both sides exchanged three penalties apiece and the Islanders were outshot 12-7 - with a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
After killing off two penalties - compared to Anaheim's one - to start the period, Dobson delivered the Islanders the game's icebreaker at 13:41. A strong forechecking effort from Kyle Palmieri and Jean-Gabriel Pageau shifted the puck low-to high where Dobson's one timer sailed through traffic and past Stolarz.
On a quick sequence up the ice, the Islanders doubled their lead 2-0 just 1:33 into the second period. Quick passing from Clutterbuck to Johnston allowed for an odd-man rush where Johnston threaded his pass across the slot for Cizikas to put away the one timer and his sixth goal of the season on his 31st birthday.

The Islanders iced the win with two third period goals from Greene and Dobson. Johnston produced another assist in his return as he set up Greene at the top of the left faceoff circle. Greene wired in his second goal of the season short side of Stolarz at 11:43 to pad the Islanders' lead 3-0.
After getting robbed by Stolarz early in the period, Bellows made the most of his second opportunity. As the winger was sprung up the ice for the breakaway - courtesy of a wall play from Wahlstrom - Bellows buried his shot over Stolarz's glove side at 15:06 to further the Islanders' lead 4-0. Sebastian Aho also earned an assist on Bellows' goal and extended his career-high point streak to five games where he's totaled as many helpers in that span.

SOROKIN STELLAR IN SHOOTOUT WIN

Sorokin was stellar in his fifth shutout of the season which improved his record to 17-11-7. He came up with acrobatic and timely stops against the Ducks' offensively inclined youngsters to help his team to victory and preserve a clean sheet.
ISLES 4, DUCKS 0
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In the first period, Sorokin faced an active workload including 12 shots and three power plays against. The Russian netminder came up with a big stop on a Cam Fowler point-blank chance early in the game on Brock Nelson's high sticking penalty at 3:10 and prior to Dobson's goal, Sorokin sprawled out to deny Massapequa native Sonny Milano on the near post after the puck redirected off the lively boards.
The goaltender came up with solid stops in the second period where he faced nine shots. Sorokin denied a Kevin Shattenkirk one timer from the slot during 4v4 hockey after Anders Lee and Max Comtois both went to the box for roughing at 15:28.
In the third period, as the Ducks continued to press Sorokin didn't waver and stopped all 13 shots he faced.
The win marked Sorokin's 30th-career win and eighth-career shutout. The 26-year-old became the fourth active goaltender to record at least eight shutouts through his first 30 NHL wins.

DOBSON DOMINANCE CONTINUES

Dobson continues to showcase his confidence and flex his offensive instincts for the Islanders and is getting rewarded as he scored his ninth goal of the season and has three points (1G, 2A) in his last two games. Ahead of the game against Anaheim, Trotz complimented the 22-year-old for his confident play and maturation of his overall game.

Against the Ducks, Dobson logged a team-high 21:30 time on ice - including 2:47 on the power play and 20 second son the penalty kill - was plus-two and had one shot.
In third season with the Islanders, and hopefully his first 82-game campaign, Dobson leads the Islanders' blueline in scoring with 26 points (9G, 17A) through 47 games.
To further impress, his nine goals are tied with four other players for seventh among NHL defensemen and all nine have come since Dec. 5, where Dobson leads all NHL d-men in goals with one goal more than Colorado Avalanche blueliner Cale Makar.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders conclude their five-game road trip with a final stop in Denver on Tuesday night. Puck drop between the Islanders and Colorado Avalanche is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET.