3 Takeaways: Resilient Isles Rally for 4-2 Win Over Blues

The New York Islanders extended their winning streak to four games on Tuesday night, as they scored a 4-2 comeback win over the St. Louis Blues at UBS Arena.

Kyle Palmieri (1G, 1A), JG Pageau, Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal (ENG) scored for the Isles, who rallied out of a 2-0 hole to upend the Blues. Adam Pelech had a pair of assists, while Ilya Sorokin stopped 19 of 21 in the win. Alexey Toropchenko and Jordan Kyrou scored for the Blues, while Joel Hofer stopped 29 of 32 in the loss.

The Islanders’ four straight wins tie a season-long (Dec. 7-13). With the win, the Islanders (68 points) closed the gap with the Philadelphia Flyers (72 points) and Tampa Bay Lightning (72 points), who were both idle on Tuesday. The Isles still have two games-in-hand on both the Flyers and Bolts.

“It's so important this time of year to keep yourself in games and night in and night out give yourself a chance to win,” Palmieri said. “We have the goaltending to do it. It's just up to us to go out and find ways to execute and play our style of hockey that's making us successful.”

ISLES SHOW RESILIENCE, RALLY FOR WIN:

The Islanders were the better team from the drop of the puck on Tuesday night, dictating the pace and place of play, outshooting the Blues 33-21 and out-attempting 68-38.

Despite the shot and territory advantages, the Isles found themselves trailing 2-0 at the halfway point of the contest, after a pair of mistakes wound up in the back of their net. St. Louis opened the scoring 1:21 into the second period, as Alexey Toropchenko kept, shot and scored on a two-on-one rush that started with an Isles turnover at the Blues blue line.

The Blues took a 2-0 at the 8:30 mark of the second period, as Brandon Saad picked Bo Horvat’s pocket in front of the net and dished a quick backdoor feed to Jordan Kyrou, who snapped a seven-game goal drought.

The Isles were undeterred, sticking to a game plan that saw them out-attempt the Blues 23-11 in the first period and 57-24 through 40 minutes.

“We didn't break,” Horvat said. “The main message in here is play the same way all the time. We definitely carried the play for the majority of that game and it was just a matter of time before they started going in.”

Palmieri got one back for the Islanders at the 12:32 mark, as he collected a stretch pass from Adam Pelech down the wing, beat Justin Faulk on the outside with speed, curled around a Joel Hofer poke-check and buried his 19^th goal of the season. The goal was Palmieri’s fourth in his last two games.

Pageau put the Isles back on even footing at the 17:47 mark, as he collected a rebound in the slot and beat Hofer, snapping an eight-game drought in the process. That momentum carried into the third period, as Horvat scored the eventual winner 55 seconds into the period. Horvat came into the zone with a head of steam and collected his own rebound on a wraparound to put the Isles ahead. Horvat called the Blues’ first two goals his fault, which made his redemption at the end of the game that much sweeter.

“I don't know if you could tell by my celebration,” Horvat said. “I felt like I definitely owe them that.”

ISLES CLOSE OUT GAME IN THIRD:

After acquiring the lead, the Islanders refused to let it go and clamped down on the Blues in the third period.

The Isles held the Blues without a shot from the 6:57 mark of the third period all the way to the 16:30 mark. It was a harken back to the Isles suffocating close out style that characterized the team over the past few seasons.

Instead of collapsing around their net, the Isles pushed the pace, forechecking and keeping the puck in the St. Louis end, wearing down an already tired Blues team that had played the night before in Philadelphia.

“We were just playing fast getting the puck up and getting north I think we did a good job forechecking and holding on to the puck in the offensive zone,” Palmieri said. “When you do that, it's a lot easier to play with the lead than then being hemmed in.”

The Blues had a flurry of shots towards the end of the game, but the Isles extended their lead to 4-2 with an empty-netter, as Mathew Barzal gave Torey Krug the old how do you do and skated the puck down the ice to seal it. Barzal extended his point streak to five games (2G, 4A) and after going 57 games without an empty-netter, the Isles have two in their last three contests.

LEE-PAGEAU-PALMIERI STAY HOT:

After a breakout game on Saturday night, the trio of Kyle Palmieri, JG Pageau and Anders Lee stayed hot against the St. Louis Blues.

Palmieri and Pageau each scored for the Isles, with Palmieri earning an assist on Pageau’s goal. That gives the Islanders’ winger six points (4G, 2A) in his last two games, which marks the first time in his career he’s accomplished that feat.

“This line has been on fire,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said. “Seriously, those was two big goals for us. They connect really well. They play well together. Kyle has been, since I've been here, probably our best forward and he's been really good.”

Pageau also had a great night at the face-off dot, winning 10-of-13 draws (77%), leading the way on a night where the Isles won 71% of their draws overall (29-of-41). Ironically, it was getting tossed from a face-off that led to his goal, as it positioned Pageau around the net to pot Sebastian Aho’s blocked point shot.

Pageau finished the game with three shot attempts, three hits, a goal and a big night at the dot. Palmieri finished the night with five shots, seven total attempts, a hit and the face-off win that led to the Pageau goal. Lee had five shot attempts.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders head out on the road for a four-game trip through California and Buffalo. The trip starts on Thursday night in San Jose. Puck drop is at 10:30 p.m. et.