3 Takeaways: Islanders Win Streak Snapped in 3-0 Shutout Loss to Wings

There was just something off for the New York Islanders on Saturday afternoon, as they saw their five-game winning streak come to a halt via a 3-0 shutout loss to the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena.
The Islanders offense, which entered the game fourth in goals per game, came up empty for the first time this season. They lost the special teams battle on both sides of the puck and were the victim of some bad bounces and saw plenty of good looks narrowly miss.

There was more strangeness to Saturday's tilt, including both teams warming up in the Red Wings practice rink due to a pregame ceremony honoring Detroit's 1998 Stanley Cup champs, and a brief scare in the Islanders crease.
Add it all up and it was not enough to overcome goals from Lucas Raymond, Pius Suter and Dominik Kubalik, or break through a 26-save shutout by Ville Husso.
"Give them credit, they played well," Head Coach Lane Lambert said of the Red Wings. "They were taking away time and space, but I didn't think that we played fast enough. There is no excuse for it."

ISLES LOSE SPECIAL TEAMS BATTLE:

The Islanders lost the special teams battle on Saturday afternoon, both allowing a power-play goal, as well as giving up their first shorthanded tally of the season.
The winner of an extended five-on-three is generally a good barometer for who's going to win the game, and eight days after killing off an extended five-on-three against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Islanders were tasked with killing off a 1:16 stretch down two. The Red Wings pressured with Dominik Kubalik looking to thread a pass across the crease to Lucas Raymond at the side of the net. Ryan Pulock was able to get a skate on the pass, but instead of directing it out of the play, the puck landed perfectly for Raymond who put Detroit up 1-0 at 6:29.
Raymond's goal marked the fourth-straight game the Islanders have allowed a power-play goal, after not allowing any through the first eight games of the season. The past three goals against the Islanders shorthanded unit have come via tipped pucks, so it's not an indictment of the penalty kill structure, as the Isles have been victim of some bad bounces.
Perhaps the real killer for the Islanders was allowing their first shorthanded goal of the season at 12:51. Adam Erne sprung Pius Suter for a shorthanded break, after Erne worked the puck around a pinching Noah Dobson. Suter went upstairs on llya Sorokin, scoring on Detroit's first shot on the cold Isles goalie who entered the game in place of Semyon Varlamov who was pulled by the concussion spotter after a collision with Raymond.
"I'm sure it was tough for him to come in and right away they have a breakaway," Varlamov said. "It's not easy to come in like that in the middle of the game."
The Islanders finished the game 0-for-3 on the power play and killed off 4-of-5 penalties, though the team felt the parade to the box early interrupted their rhythm.

OFFENSE COMES UP EMPTY:

After piling up 22 goals during their five-game winning streak, the Islanders offense couldn't buy a goal on Saturday afternoon, as the team was shut out for the first time since Feb. 2 last season against Seattle.
Ville Husso was good when he needed to be, stopping 24 shots for his second shutout of the season, but he had a lot of support from his teammates, as Detroit blocked 24 of the Islanders' 63 attempts on the night.
"They did a really good job of blocking shots," Zach Parise said. "Our defensemen had a lot of looks that they got in the way. That's a big way that we create offense is off of point shots, so they did a good job there."
There were a handful of near misses as well, as the Islanders were credited with 15 blocked shots. Mathew Barzal's night was a microcosm of the Islanders near misses on Saturday, as the Islanders center had six missed shots, including two looks at an open net from a sharp-angle in the closing minutes of the game. Barzal also had Husso beat in the third period, but put a backhander off the side of the net after evading Husso's diving poke check.
There were other opportunities that just didn't go for the Islanders, such as Oliver Wahlstrom's one-timer on a cross-ice pass from Barzal, or some JG Pageau hacks in tight during a late first period push. Mortiz Seider also got a stick on a Barzal shot with the Islanders center streaking down the wing.
RED WINGS 3, ISLANDERS 0
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Postgame: Lambert
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The Isles finished the game with seven high danger chances at five-on-five (courtesy of Natural Stat Trick), but Lambert said he felt his team didn't do enough to get pucks on net through the first two periods, though they picked up their volume in the third.
"We're going to have 30 shot attempts in the first two periods and end the game with 63," Lambert said. "We obviously didn't get to our game and move the puck quick enough through the first 40 minutes."

EVERYBODY DOES NOT LOVE RAYMOND:

Give credit where it's due, as Lucas Raymond played an outsized role in the Red Wings win on Saturday afternoon.
Detroit's sophomore forward drew both penalties that resulted in the five-on-three. His hit on Barzal in the neutral zone set off the scrum that led to Oliver Wahlstrom's roughing call, as Wahlstrom jumped in to stand up for his teammate. On the ensuing power play, Adam Pelech was whistled for hooking Raymond.
The 20-year-old was at the center of the next flashpoint, as Raymond was knocked into Varlamov by Zach Parise at 11:17 of the second. The collision briefly sent Varlamov to the locker room, as he was pulled by the concussion spotter, but the Isles netminder came back to finish the game in the third period, which was a great sign given the Islanders upcoming back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday.
"I feel good right now," said Varlamov, who stopped 22-of-24 shots. "I'm glad I was able to come back and finish the game and give [Sorokin] some rest."
Raymond finished the game with 16:19 TOI, three shots, four total attempts, one goal and dropped down to block a full Ryan Pulock windup in the third period.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders return home to take on the Calgary Flames on Monday night at UBS Arena. Note the earlier start time, as puck drop is at 7 p.m.