3 Takeaways: Late Goals Cost Isles vs Canucks

The New York Islanders six-game homestand started on a losing note Thursday, as the Islanders fell 4-3 to the Vancouver Canucks at UBS Arena.
The Islanders led 3-2 early in the third period, but a pair of Vancouver goals 45 seconds apart ultimately sank the Islanders in their return home.
Noah Dobson, Kyle Palmieri and Anthony Beauvillier scored for the Islanders, who dropped their second-straight game. Brad Hunt, JT Miller, Nils Hoglander and Vasily Podkolzin scored for the Canucks.

LATE STRIKES SINK ISLES:

The Islanders appeared to be in a good position after Beauvillier broke a 2-2 tie with an unassisted goal 1:49 into the third period. Beauvillier intercepted a feed from Brock Boeser, skated in and beat Thatcher Demko with an individual effort that the goaltender nearly stopped before Boeser accidently knocked it into his own net.
The Islanders were holding a lead - their second lead of the game - after being outshot 29-17 in the first two periods, but a pair of quick strikes proved to be the difference against Vancouver. Hoglander and Podkolzin scored goals on consecutive shots 45 seconds apart to flip the game on its head midway through the third period.
CANUCKS 4, ISLANDERS 3
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KINGER'S CALLS
Dobson's 10th of the Season
Palmieri's One Timer
Beauvillier's Individual Effort
"You knew they were going to come with a push," Palmieri said. "We couldn't find a way to keep the pressure on them and we ended up playing our d-zone and they tied it up and got a quick one after it."
Hoglander tied the score at 9:34, setting up for a cross-ice tap-in from Conor Garland in a similar spot as Palmieri's tying goal in the second period. Less than a minute later, Bo Horvat took a hit from Scott Mayfield deep in the Islanders' zone, but was able to work the puck out to a streaking Podkolzin, who snapped a one-timer stick side on Semyon Varlamov.
That was the difference, as the Islanders were unable to tie the score in the dying minutes, having a hard time generating sustained pressure in the Canucks' zone.
"As you go through a game, we put ourselves in a position to win," Palmieri said. "I don't think it was a puck management issue, we just had a tough time breaking out pucks cleaning and sustaining pressure down there. So when you give a team like that extended looks in our d-zone, it's tough they capitalize like that. Obviously, having two quick ones, it's a tough one to come back from."
The loss was the second-straight game the Islanders lost despite scoring three goals and dropped to 18-6-3 when scoring three-or-more goals.
After a scoreless first period, the teams combined for four goals in the middle frame. The Islanders opened up a 1-0 lead in the second period, as Dobson netted his 10th goal of the season at 3:37. Vancouver tied the score three-and-a-half minutes later as Hunt beat Semyon Varlamov with a half slapper that snuck through the Islanders netminder and trickled over the line at 7:19. The Canucks took a 2-1 lead on Miller's team-leading 21st goal of the season. The Canucks leading scorer posted up in the high slot and deflected a Boeser shot past Varlamov at 11:50
Palmieri tied the score 2-2 before the end of the second period, one-timing an Adam Pelech feed past Demko at 18:20.

DOBSON AND PALMIERI STAY HOT:

Noah Dobson was already having a career-year, but the young defenseman hit a milestone goal on Thursday, hitting double-digits for the first time in his young career. Dobson beat Thatcher Demko with a slap shot through traffic from the point for his 10th tally.
All 10 of Dobson's goals have come since Dec. 5, where he leads NHL defensemen over that span. The goal gave Dobson four points (2G, 2A) in his last four games, as he continues to provide the Islanders with offense from the blueline.
Dobson also had a game-high 10 shot attempts, with five on net, four blocked and one miss.
Kyle Palmieri also continues to wield a hot stick, scoring his second in as many games and sixth in the past nine games. The goal came off a nifty faceoff play that saw Palmieri skate across the zone from the far wall and get in position for Adam Pelech's cross-zone pass. With a secondary assist - off the faceoff win - JG Pageau extended his point streak to four games.

VARLAMOV 'CATCHING UP TO THE TRAIN' :

Semyon Varlamov returned to the crease on Thursday night, stopping 34-of-38 shots in the loss. While it marked Varlamov's fifth-straight loss, with his last win coming on Jan. 18 in Philadelphia, Trotz felt that his goaltender kept his team in the game during some hairy stretches.
Varlamov was sharp early, stopping a trio of high shots to start the game, including a fine shoulder save on Canucks' captain Bo Horvat. The Isles netminder was seeing pucks and moving well in his crease, en route to stopping all 13 Vancouver shots in the opening frame.
Varlamov did not appear to be set on Hunt's tying goal at 7:19 as the Islanders were looking for a tripping call on Sebastian Aho just before the score (a non-call Trotz said he felt was the correct decision). The 33-year-old shook it off, coming up with a lateral save on a Boeser shortly after and following it up with a glove save on Boeser on an odd-man rush.
There wasn't much the goaltender could do on Miller's deflection, or Hoglander's backdoor tap-in. Podkolzin's goal came off a bang-bang play just outside of the slot.
"Varly was pretty good for us," Trotz said. "He kept us in the second period, when we kept turning the puck over he made some pretty good saves. He's moving better. I think he's catching up to the train a little bit of how much time he's missed this year with stops and starts. He's starting to look like the Varly we all know and love. He had a really strong game for us in LA, we just didn't give him any support."

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders continue their six-game homestand with a matinee game against the St. Louis Blues. Puck drop is at 12:30 p.m.