3 Takeaways: Isles Start Second Half with 6-3 Win in Vancouver

For a week, the New York Islanders had to sit with the lingering taste of a 3-0 shutout loss to the Seattle Kraken in their mouths.
Safe to say, they were motivated and ready for Wednesday's post-All-Star puck drop against the Vancouver Canucks, washing it out with a 6-3 win at Rogers Arena.
"We were embarrassed with our performance in [the Seattle] game and we wanted to come out and prove to ourselves that we're a good hockey team and a lot better than that," Casey Cizikas said. "We did that tonight."

Zach Parise, Brock Nelson, Anders Lee, Cizikas and Mathew Barzal powered a five-goal first period for the Islanders, while Matt Martin tallied the Islanders' sixth tally. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Elias Pettersson and Luke Schenn scored for the Canucks.
Ilya Sorokin stopped 34-of-37 shots in the win, while Jaroslav Halak allowed five goals on 12 shots in the loss, while Thatcher Demko stopped 14-of-15 in relief.
Here are three takeaways from a winning start in Western Canada.

ISLES COME OUT SWINGING:

Outfitted in brand-new line combinations (more on that later) the Islanders blitzed the Canucks early on. After a Martin-JG Pageau two-on-none rush was denied by Halak, the floodgates opened, with the Isles scoring three goals in 31 seconds.
Parise got the party started, going to the net and jamming in Noah Dobson feed to open the scoring at 3:25. Nelson made it 2-0 at 3:43, tipping an Adam Pelech point shot while setting a screen on Halak for his team-leading 15th goal of the season. Lee topped off the trio at 3:56, as a Ryan Pulock pass caromed off his skate and past Halak.
The three goalies in 31 seconds were the second-fastest in team history, as Denis Potvin, Bryan Trottier and Bob Bourne scored three in 27 seconds on Oct. 23, 1983.
"Anytime you get three in the first four minutes, especially after a tough loss against Seattle, coming back from the break, we knew we had to start hot and get going," Barzal said.
The Islanders offense wasn't done yet. Cizikas knocked in a backdoor feed from Anthony Beauvillier at 13:11 while Barzal beat Halak on a breakaway to end the former Islanders goalie's evening at 16:19.
The five-goal first period was the Islanders' first since March 3, 1996 and snapped the team's six-game streak of allowing the first goal and ultimately was enough for the win.

ISLANDERS SURVIVE SECOND PERIOD SCARE:

It wasn't all smooth sailing though.
After Thatcher Demko relieved Halak, the Canucks got on the board, with Ekman-Larsson beating Ilya Sorokin with a knuckler from the high slot at 18:56. That seemingly gave the Canucks some momentum heading into the second period, where chipped away at the Islanders lead.
Elias Pettersson and Luke Schenn scored goals 91 seconds apart, tilting the ice Vancouver's favor. Pettersson was able to skate off the goal line and cut across the Islanders crease before burying on Sorokin, while Schenn's shot redirected off an Islander and past Sorokin. Including Schenn's goal the Canucks had the final six shots on goal in the period.
ISLANDERS 6, CANUCKS 3
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Full Highlights

KINGER'S CALLS
Parise Jams in Puck
Nelson Tips Pelech Shot
Puck Deflects Off Lee
Cizikas Goes Back Door
Barzal's Breakaway
Sorokin had to be good towards the end of the period, kicking out a pad on Canucks leading scorer JT Miller's chance in the final minute. He was good to start the third as well, denying a point-blank chance from Alex Chiasson.
The Islanders could exhale with 5:41 to play, as Cizikas fed Martin in the slot for the 6-3 sealer, effectively ending the Canucks comeback.
"We have to be flexible enough and resilient enough to roll with the punches when they come at us," Trotz said. "You have to get comfortable when the games are tight. Today we got off to a quick lead and then it started tightening up a little bit and we became comfortable again. I liked the demeanor on the bench and our commitment level."

LINE CHANGES:

Barry Trotz put his lines in a blender ahead of Wednesday's game. The coach broke up the team's identity line, playing Cal Clutterbuck on a line with Mathew Barzal and Lee. Anthony Beauvillier skated with Matt Martin and Cizikas, while Ross Johnston played with Nelson and Josh Bailey.
The three new lines - Parise-Pageau-Oliver Wahlstrom was the only familiar trio - each had a bit of bite.
"We haven't had consistent production through our lineup, so it was to put some people in a position where they can add a little weight on the lines, especially on what we call our top two lines," Trotz said. "Casey's line has an identity, why can't we have that through our whole team? One of the ideas was to spread it out and put people in a position for some battle level and weight on each line and hopefully have some success."

All four lines got on the scoresheet on Wednesday. Clutterbuck (2A) and Lee (1G, 1A) each had a team-high two points, while 12 different Islanders recorded a point.
"Personally, having Clutterbuck out there, it just gets more predictable hockey on every line," Barzal said. "Right away we scored early. He's a heady player. Even Ross with Nelson and Bailey he's going to do a lot of dirty work and sometimes every line needs a guy like that and it seemed to work tonight."

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders continue their four-game road trip on Friday night against the Edmonton Oilers. Puck drop is at 9 p.m. eastern.