5 Takeaways: Islanders Suffer 2-1 Overtime Loss to New Jersey

In their first home game of their preseason slate, the New York Islanders dropped a 2-1 overtime result to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday afternoon at Webster Bank Arena, the official home of the Islanders' AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders.
The Islanders entered the game 2-0-0 in the preseason and took an early 1-0 lead as Kieffer Bellows buried a feed from Mathew Barzal. The Devils scored a late third-period equalizer from Mark Jankowski to eventually send the game to overtime where they completed the comeback win with Yegor Sharangovich's game winner with 1:24 left in OT.

Ilya Sorokin and Cory Schneider played in net for the Islanders. Sorokin manned the pipes for the first two periods (40 minutes) and made 11 saves on 11 shots. Schneider played in net for the final period of regulation and continued to play in the overtime period. Schneider stopped five of the seven shots he faced.
Mackenzie Blackwood played the first period for New Jersey and made 15 saves on 16 shots. Scott Wedgewood stopped all 22 shots he faced during the final 40 minutes.

ISLANDERS START STRONG, DEVILS FINISH IT OFF

Right out of the gate, the Islanders set the tone of a high-flying game. It took just 3:23 for them to capitalize on that quick pace as Barzal and Bellows broke up the ice for a two-on-one rush. With time and space, Barzal drew in the lone New Jersey defender and forced Blackwood to slide over before zipping a cross-crease pass to the stick of Bellows. Bellows beat Blackwood with his one-timer to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead.
Following a back-and-forth scoreless second period - where both sides received three power plays - the Islanders got back to their high-paced game in the third period and put the pressure on to double their lead.
Wahlstrom nearly scored as he toe-dragged his way into the goal mouth and attempted to lift the puck with his backhand past Blackwood, but his shot was deflected high by the late stick of a New Jersey defenseman.
The Islanders' momentum was halted when they were tasked with going down to a 5-on-3 penalty kill midway through the third period. Despite valiantly killing the 5-on-3 off, the Devils continued to push and tied the game up 1-1 with 5:15 left in the regulation.
Following a passing sequence, the Devils found a seam in the slot to thread a pass to Jankowski, who beat Schneider blocker-side.
For the second-straight preseason game, the Islanders required overtime to determine a victor, where Sharangovich snapped a shot high on Schneider to seal it.

PENALTY KILL STAYS PERFECT

Through three preseason contests, the Islanders have still yet to allow a power-play goal against.
"Without watching the film over again at this point, I would say the penalty kill did a really good job," Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "We've got a good veteran group, but I thought guys like Otto Koivula did a really good job. We got through a 1:30 of 5-on-3. Those are good reps to have, and we did a really good job."
Both sides were busy with special-teams reps during the second period, as the Islanders received three power plays and the Devils also had three chances on the man advantage.
While neither side converted on their respective power play chances in the period, the Islanders were solid on the penalty kill. The Islanders practically started the period on consecutive penalty kills as they had to kill off a remaining 1:32 from Thomas Hickey's first period cross-checking penalty and subsequently were tasked with Erik Gustafsson's call for high-sticking 2:15 into the frame.
The Islanders went down to a 5-on-3 for 1:27 midway through the third period as Pageau took a holding penalty and then Cizikas was assessed with holding as well and joined him in the box.
Following the New Jersey timeout, the Islanders regrouped and fought - and succeeded - to kill off the desperate New Jersey power play. The Islanders are now 11-for-11 in the preseason.

PRESEASON DEBUTS FOR BARZAL, PAGEAU AND PARISE

Saturday afternoon marked the first preseason appearance for Barzal, Pageau and Parise. Barzal centered a line with Kyle Palmieri and Kieffer Bellows. The electric centerman picked up one assist, was plus-one and had one shot on goal.
Pageau, who underwent offseason hand surgery, skated between Wahlstrom and Parise. Pageau took one penalty.
Saturday was the first time that Islanders fans had the opportunity to see Parise, who joined the team in the offseason, for the first time in game-night Islander threads. The veteran winger fired off one shot in his first showing for the Islanders, skating even strength, power play and penalty kill.
"[I'm] very comfortable with the group," Parise said. "Pace was a little different from the scrimmages, things happen a little faster, you have to make your decisions a little quicker. Those are things that will become second nature the more you play the games, but the first period is a different pace than the intrasquad scrimmages.
"The preseason games, we all know how valuable they are to get that last bit of summer hockey out of you," Parise continued. "To get that game pace and get comfortable with paying the body a bit, handling the puck under pressure, so as much as we do want to get to the regular season, you don't want to overlook the importance of the preseason games."

SOROKIN SETTLING IN

Following the game, Sorokin was made available via Zoom to speak to the media for the first time this season.
Despite entering his second official season with the Islanders, the Russian netminder hadn't experienced a true preseason yet. After Saturday, Sorokin had dressed in his second preseason game.
"Today's game, there wasn't a lot of work for me," Sorokin said. Eleven or 12 shots, it's hard because when you have 20-25 shots, you're always focused, but I showed I can play this game and still focus.
"It's interesting because last season was unusual, short offseason and no preseason games," Sorokin continued. "I really happy with this full season, 82 games and full preseason."

BACK IN BRIDGEPORT

Tweet from @NYIslanders: Locked in for our first home game at the home of the @AHLIslanders. pic.twitter.com/ysNvs2nkFg
A number of players on the Islanders' roster began their careers in Bridgeport. So, returning to Webster Bank Arena was a nice touch and featured a warm welcome back for skaters like Casey Cizikas, Michael Dal Colle, Scott Mayfield, Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock and Oliver Wahlstrom.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders return to Webster Bank Arena to host the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 5. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.