5 Takeaways: 'Islander' Hockey Powers 5-2 Win over Buffalo

Home, sweet home.
With a dominant 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night at Nassau Coliseum, the Islanders preserved their untainted home record, and are still the only team in the NHL without a regulation loss on home ice.
The Islanders played true to their identity with goals from Matt Martin (2), Noah Dobson, Anthony Beauvillier and Jordan Eberle. Ilya Sorokin (16 saves) backstopped the team to earn his third-career win.

"We're going to have success with games with everyone contributing, being on the right side," Head Coach Barry Trotz said.
Thursday was the fourth meeting between the Islanders and Sabres this season, and the Islanders lead the series 4-0-0. The contest marked the first of three-straight meetings over four days between the clubs.

ISLANDER WIN

The Islanders followed their recipe for success in the win as they received scoring from up and down their lineup. With one goal coming from their blueline and three goals coming from three of their four lines, the Islanders put forth a balanced effort. Defensively, the Islanders held the Sabres to single-digit shots in each of the three periods as they commanded a 45-18 shot on goal advantage.
"We feel have four lines and three sets of D that can contribute," Eberle said. "If you look at the minutes across the board most nights it is fairly even. That's just Barry having confidence in everyone. That's what makes our team such a good hockey club. We win by committee and each guy has a role."
The Islanders even did themselves a favor by staying out of the box and didn't take a penalty to afford Buffalo the opportunity to let it's third-ranked power play (30.7%) in the NHL go to work.
"One of the things to stay out of the box is to be on the right side of the puck," Trotz said. "You don't have to reach. I thought we did a really good job of a) taking penalties and b) positionally, we were in a good position so we didn't need to take penalties. That takes a piece of their game away."
ISLANDERS VS SABRES
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Full Highlights
Dobson Opens Scoring
Martin's Bank Shot
Beauvillier Extends Lead
Eberle Scores 9th
Trotz Postgame
KINGER'S CALLS
Dobson Opens Scoring
Martin's Bank Shot
C'est Beau
Eberle's 9th Goal
Martin's Second of the Game
Dobson and Martin got the Islanders on the board in the first period in what was a fiery affair between teams off the opening faceoff.
Both sides got off to a hasty start as 10 shots were exchanged between teams - six coming from the Islanders - within the first six minutes of play.
But then the Islanders turned on the heat.
Dobson put the Islanders on the board with his sizzling wrist shot - and second goal of the season - at 10:25. A nice zone entry by Mathew Barzal followed by a cross-zone feed from Eberle set up the 21-year-old blueliner to snipe his shot from the high slight and under the right shoulder of Buffalo netminder Jonas Johansson.
With an already impressive 18-6 shot edge, Martin gave the Islanders an extra boost heading into the first intermission as he scored his first goal with 3:39 on the clock. The winger capped off a dominant shot by the Islanders 'Identity Line' as he beat Johansson from below the goal line with a deceptive shot. Martin sold his gaze looking to pass before popping the puck off Johansson's neck and into the goal.
Beauvillier scored the Islanders sole goal of the second period, but an important one, to restore the Islanders two-goal lead after Taylor Hall had cut Buffalo's deficit down 2-1.
The Islanders had started the second period with 1:34 left on their second power play of the night.
With a pivotal kill, the Sabres increased their intensity and applied a smothering push. The Sabres broke through as they capitalized on a poor zone exit by the Islanders. Cody Eakin palmed Ryan Pulock attempted lob down ice and countered by ripping a shot off along the left boards. Sorokin kicked out the initial save with his right pad, but a flanking Hall buried the rebound.
"We didn't really support that breakout pass and then we had to jam it up the wall," Trotz said. "They turned it into a goal for them. I liked our response. We didn't panic or anything. It was really necessary that at the end of the period, we were at least 1-1 in that period. [Beauvillier's] goal disheartened themed a little bit. They had a push on. We were in our end and we made a good defensive play. [Nelson] and [Bailey] made a real great read and [Beauvillier] had a real great finish. That was a great goal for us."

While the Sabres continued to press, the Islanders forced them to the outside and played a composed game. Their patience wore off as they restored their two-goal lead at 14:58.
A forced turnover by Josh Bailey at the Islanders' blueline allowed Brock Nelson to spring Beauvillier for a breakaway. Beauvillier put his zippy wheels on display as the winger outpaced Ristolainen, dragged the puck across the crease and buried his backhander for the Islanders' third goal of the game.
Rather than ceasing, the intensity continued to mount in the third period. Three goals were exchanged between teams, but the Islanders cemented their 5-2 win with a goal from Eberle and Martin's second of the night.
Eberle extended the Islanders' lead 4-1 early in the period at 3:14. The Islanders hemmed the Sabres in their zone where Eberle forced a turnover. Anders Lee blasted the loose puck on net, but Johansson made the initial save, but fortunately, Eberle was in the right place as the rebound shot out to him in the slot for his ninth goal of the season.
Shortly after, Lee wrangled Buffalo's Colin Miller to the ice and both were awarded roughing minors. With Lee and Miller in the box, the Sabres got their second goal of the night. Sorokin denied an initial shot by Jack Eichel, but Ristolainen pushed the puck past the goal line to trim the Islanders lead down 4-2.
The Islanders were awarded their third power play of the night eight minutes into the period. While they didn't convert, on the man advantage their first shift after the power play restored their three-goal lead.
The 'Identity Line' did what it does best and hounded the Sabres in their zone. Martin collected a pass from Casey Cizikas under the goal line and made a decisive play to drive to the net and jam in his own rebound.

TWO-GOAL GAME FOR MARTIN

Tweet from @NYIslanders: HUG ME BROTHA - Casey, probably. pic.twitter.com/KZpreKbD0h
Martin scored his third and fourth goals of the season. It was a governing performance from the winger who was rewarded for his usual efforts of going to the dirty areas, but also showed flairs of confident play.
Through 23 games this season, the 31-year-old has totaled six points (4G, 2A).

BEAUVILLIER'S 300TH NHL GAME

While just a ripe 23-years of age, Beauvillier reached a sizable milestone on Thursday night. The Sorel-Tracy, Quebec product skated in his 300th career game and had quite a memorable one at that as he buried his 68th-career goal.
With five seasons and 300 games of NHL hockey under his belt, Beauvillier has totaled a solid 132 points (68G, 64A).
"It feels like yesterday I first started playing here," Beauvillier said of the milestone. "I wouldn't call myself an older guy, I'm still young at heart. It's been a fun ride so far. I'm looking forward to the rest of it."

STAYIN' SHARP

It wasn't a busy night for Sorokin, who earned his sixth start of the season and improved his record to 3-2-1, but the Russian rookie was clutch when the Islanders needed him to be. Not only were Sorokin's saves timely, but the 25-year-old showcased his quick reflexes and elastic-like agility.
The Sabres tested him with a promising three-on-two rush, shortly after Beauvillier's goal and amidst an overwhelming push in the final two minutes of the second period, but Sorokin gloved the attempt.
With Hall's goal, Sorokin's shutout streak ended at 143:08 (he recorded two consecutive shutouts vs Buffalo on Feb. 16 and against Pittsburgh on Feb. 28), which is the third-longest for a rookie netminder in franchise history.
Even after facing only 11 shots through 40 minutes of play, and 18 shots come the final buzzer, Sorokin kept the Islanders in the game in the third period despite his light workload.
"I'm not a goalie, but I'm sure it's tough when you're getting a lot of rubber to stay in it," Eberle said of Sorokin's game. "You can tell, he made some big saves when he needed to. It's nice to have confidence in the one-two punch out there and it makes our job easier if something goes wrong. Obviously, he's playing well, [Varlamov] is playing well and we're just trying to defend as much as we can for them."

HOME SWEET HOME

With their 13th win of the season - tied with Washington for the most in the East Division - and their eighth regulation win, the Islanders remain the only team in the NHL without a loss in regulation on home ice.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders and Sabres return for their second of three-straight meetings on Saturday at Nassau Coliseum. Puck drop is scheduled for 1 p.m.