3 Takeaways: Second Period Sinks Isles in 5-2 Loss to Kings

LA has not been kind to the New York Islanders of late and the team's recent struggles in SoCal continued with a 5-2 loss to the LA Kings at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night.
Pierre Engvall put the Islanders up 1-0 in the first period, but the Kings got four straight goals in the second period from Blake Lizotte, Drew Doughty (PPG), Al Iafallo (PPG) and Trevor Moore to take over the game. Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored in his return to the lineup, while Quinton Byfield's empty-netter for the Kings rounded out the scoring.

The loss was the Islanders second straight, marking their first two-game losing streak since a three-game winless streak from Feb. 9-14.
The loss drops the Islanders to 1-6-0 in their last seven trips to LA and 2-10-0 in their last 11.

SECOND PERIOD SINKS ISLES:

After a back and forth first period that saw the Islanders ahead 1-0, the Kings roared back in the second, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 lead by the 12:14 mark.
The Kings tied the score 1:54 mark of the second period, as Blake Lizotte deflected a Sean Walker shot high on Ilya Sorokin, but the turning point came at the 4:40 mark. Matt Martin took an unsportsmanlike penalty for throwing the helmet of a Kings player on top of coincidental roughing minors for him and Rasmus Kupari.
KINGS 5, ISLANDERS 2
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Pageau Scores in Return
On the ensuing penalty kill, Zach Parise was whistled for kneeing Gabriel Vilardi, sending the Kings to an extended two-man advantage.
The Kings got their money's worth, scoring on both power plays. Drew Doughty made it 2-1 with a one-timer at 6:06 on the five-on-three. Alex Iafallo followed it up a minute later, knocking in a Viktor Arvidsson rebound that clanked off the post and crossbar behind Sorokin. The Kings had three second period goals before the Islanders had a second period shot.
"My penalty and giving them a five on three in the second, they got two holes on it," Martin said. "It was more or less the difference in the hockey game. Have to be more disciplined."
It was a rainy day in LA and really started pouring on the Islanders when Trevor Moore made it 4-1 at the 12:14 mark. With the Islanders playing the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night, Lane Lambert kept Sorokin in despite allowing four goals just over midway through the game.
The Isles showed some life towards the end of the period, with Pageau scoring just after an Islanders power play expired. Bo Horvat just missed a chance at the side of the net to end the period, and while the Isles had come back from two goals down against Pittsburgh less than a week prior, a comeback was not in the cards. The Isles went 0-for-2 on the power play in the third period, and 0-for-3 on the game.
"We had that flurry at the end of the second could have made it a one goal game would have made large difference, but I didn't think our power play was very good in the third period," Head Coach Lane Lambert said. "We have to be better than that. That's so there's no way we can accept that."

PAGEAU SCORES IN RETURN:

JG Pageau scored in his return to the lineup, playing for the first time since Feb. 11.
The French-Canadian centers scored the Islanders second goal, cutting across the net for a backdoor redirection on a Sebastian Aho point shot.
"It's definitely good to help the team offensively," Pageau said. "We also gave up two when I was on the ice, so obviously I'm not happy about my game. I'll look myself in the mirror and I think I have better, so I will be better tomorrow."
Pageau centered a line with Pierre Engvall - who joined the team during Pageau's 12-game absence - and Hudson Fasching. Pageau finished the game with a goal, four shot attempts, two blocks and won four of 13 face-offs, well below his 56.5 FOW% this season.
"I thought he was okay," Lambert said. "He hasn't taken a face off for a while, so there's maybe a little rust from that standpoint, but I think that the chemistry was fine with him in Pierre.
Engvall opened the scoring in the first period, netting goals in back-to-back games. The play started with Ryan Pulock winning a battle against Lizotte and springing Engvall, who snapped a shot off Korpisalo's glove and in at 11:45 of the first.

STANDINGS IMPLICATIONS:

The Islanders remain in the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with 76 points, three points ahead of the Florida Panthers (73 points), who have two games in hand.
They trail the Pittsburgh Penguins (78 points) by two points. Pittsburgh lost to Montreal on Tuesday. The Islanders also got some help from the New York Rangers, who beat the Washington Capitals (71 points) in regulation. Ottawa (70 points) lost to Edmonton.
Some friendly results did help the Islanders, as did the fact that their regulation loss came via a Western Conference opponent. Three of the Islanders last four losses have come vs Western foes.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders take on the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night at 10 p.m. eastern.