3 Takeaways: Isles Beat Ducks 4-3 For Third-Straight Win

After searching for consistency, the New York Islanders are starting to find some as they scored their third-straight win on Sunday night, downing the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 at UBS Arena.
The three-game streak is the Islanders first since Jan. 17-21 and the team's first three-game regulation streak of the season.
"Any time you have a good game or a couple of good games in a row you start to find your energy a little bit," Anders Lee said. "The room is lighter, it's not dragging on you. You look forward to the next game as much as possible and to keep that feeling going.

Kyle Palmieri led the way with two goals, while Zach Parise and Lee scored for the Islanders. Josh Manson, Isac Lundestrom and Adam Henrique scored for the Ducks.
The win concludes the Islanders six-game homestand with a 4-2-0 record.
"It started with battling out of an unfortunate loss against Colorado, but not giving up and continuing to go off of it and take the end of that game into the next few ones," Lee said. "We've just built on that. It's something we wanted to do all year is build our game. I think we're starting to do that the right way."

ISLANDERS OFFENSE STAYS HOT:

The Islanders offense scored four-or-more goals for a fourth-consecutive game on Sunday, filling the net against the Ducks.
Going a little further back, the Islanders have scored three-or-more goals in seven of their last eight games - an important mark for a team that is 21-7-3 when scoring at least three and 3-16-5 when they do not.
ISLANDERS 4, DUCKS 3
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Full Highlights

KINGER'S CALLS
Parise Stuffs in Barzal Shot
Palmieri Goes High Short Side
Lee Tips Pulock Shot
Palmieri's Second
"If you put in the work, you usually get rewarded at some point," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "You don't always get rewarded right away. Sometimes [the Hockey Gods] make you suffer a little bit, but some day you do get rewarded."
The goals came early on Sunday, with Parise stuffing in his eighth of the year on the Islanders first shot of the game at 2:18 of the first period. Josh Manson tied the score 1-1 at the midway point of the period, but the Islanders scored twice in the final 30 seconds of the first period to take over the 1-1 affair.
Palmieri scored his first of the night with a short-side snipe over Gibson's shoulder at 19:31. The Islanders continued to press, with Lee giving the Islanders a 3-1 lead with 3.3 seconds to play in the frame, tipping a Ryan Pulock shot for his 21st of the season. Lee's goal was his seventh in the past four games.
The Ducks made a push in the second period. Lundestrom deflected a Hampus Lindholm shot past Sorokin at 14:23. Anaheim nearly tied the score a few minutes later, as a Max Comtois shot clanked off the crossbar, but Palmieri reestablished the Islanders' two-goal lead at 17:25.
Josh Bailey assisted on both of Palmieri's markers, giving Bailey three multi-point games in a row (3G, 3A).
"The best way to lead is to lead by example," Trotz said of his veteran players contributing. "We've asked people to step up and we've increased their loads a little bit and done a good job. When the leaders are doing that, it's easy to follow."
Adam Henrique briefly put a scare into the Isles, making it 4-3 with 1:44 to play, but that's as close as Anaheim would come.
While the four-goal output powered the win, Ilya Sorokin was still heavily relied upon in the win, stopping 39-of-42 shots, perhaps none better than his pad save on a Cam Fowler rebound early in the third.

PALMIERI PILING UP POINTS:

A lot of Islanders are riding hot streaks at the moment, so Kyle Palmieri's may have flown under the radar a little bit.
Not after Sunday night as Palmieri led the Islanders with a two-goal outing, extending his point streak to four games in the process.
Palmieri put the Islanders ahead 2-1 at 19:31 of the first period, snapping a heavy wrister high-short-side on John Gibson. Palmieri lit the lamp again in the second period to make it 4-2, snapping a Scott Mayfield feed by Gibson at 17:25 - a goal that came on the heels of a Max Comtois shot off the crossbar that came inches from tying the score.
Palmieri nearly completed the hat trick in the third period, but his look at an open net was robbed by a desperation paddle save by Gibson.
The Islanders' winger has been red hot over the past month, racking up eight goals and four assists in 14 games since returning to the lineup after being a healthy scratch. His eight goals only trail Anders Lee's nine for the team lead since Feb. 15.

WAHLSTROM, JOHNSTON IN:

Oliver Wahlstrom and Ross Johnston drew back into the lineup on Sunday.
Wahlstrom returned after a one-game absence and skated on a line with Mathew Barzal and Zach Parise. The Wahlstrom-Barzal connection, pairing the triggerman with the Islanders top playmaker, was eagerly anticipated and showed well.
Wahlstrom had four shots on goal in the first period and the line opened the scoring, with Parise making sure Barzal's between-the-legs try made it over the goal line. Parise started the play by creating a turnover behind the Ducks' net, while Barzal showed off some of his usual routine razzle dazzle with the between-the-legs try. The line was credited with six shots on goal and three high-danger chances, per Natural Stat Trick.
"I thought we had some great looks especially in the first," Parise said. "You get one early and you start to feel it a little bit. We had some good cycles, we had some good exchanges, some good give-and-gos. We all had scoring chances. I liked our possession, we had good puck possession. I liked how we got the puck back when it was 50-50. If we stay together, we'll keep communicating. That's been key. Especially with Barzy and I, just talking and finding out where he wants me to go, we learn about each other and continue to grow again."
Johnston drew in for Matt Martin, returning to the lineup for the first time since sitting out for five games.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders head out for a pair of road games against Metro Division opponents, starting on Tuesday night in Washington DC. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.