Islanders Fall 3-2 to Golden Knights

Wednesday's Islanders-Golden Knights game was the type of low-chance, structured game the Islanders would take most nights.
The Islanders limited Vegas to 17 shots and fewer chances, but despite playing good, defensive hockey for a majority of the game, they came out with no points, falling 3-2 to the Golden Knights.
"We held a pretty good hockey team to 17 shots, you feel you should get a point out of that," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "It's a missed opportunity. We played well in so many areas of the game, but we gave them things that were a little bit unforced."

Anthony Beauvillier and Adam Pelech had the Islanders in a 2-2 tie with the Golden Knights after 40 minutes, but Tomas Nosek scored the go-ahead goal at 3:32 of the third, Vegas' first-ever win against the Islanders, the last team they'd yet to beat.
Nosek's goal was one of the errors Trotz was referencing, which included a cross-up between Robin Lehner and Thomas Hickey in front of the Islanders net. The puck sat between the goalie and defenseman for an extra second, while Nosek crashed the net deposited the winning goal.
"It's on both of us to communicate and get it out of harm or cover it," Hickey said. "It's one of those things that looks simple, but there's blind spots out there for everyone and it's a split-second thing."

From that point, the Golden Knights clamped down and didn't give the Islanders much. It was a close-checking affair all night, with little breathing room for either team. The Islanders finished the game with 25 shots.
Jonathan Marchessault opened the scoring for Vegas with a power-play goal 34 seconds into the game, but the Islanders responded, with Beauvillier finishing a feed from a pinching Johnny Boychuk at 3:17.
The Islanders took the lead in the second period, as Pelech picked a corner on Marc-Andre Fleury, depositing a drop pass from Mathew Barzal. Barzal was sharp on Wednesday night, finishing with two assists and forcing a turnover in the neutral zone to start the rush that led to the Pelech goal.
Despite outshooting Vegas 12-5 in the middle frame, the Islanders couldn't escape with a lead. Nick Leddy's failed clear landed on William Karlsson's stick and the Golden Knights' sniper walked in and beat Lehner for the tying goal at 16:31.
"It's a little frustrating. We find ways to give teams easy goals," Trotz said. "The group is working really hard to make it really hard to defend and we will find a way to give an easy one up."

NOTES:

Mathew Barzal took over the team scoring lead with 25 points… Anthony Beauvillier scored for the second straight game… Adam Pelech's goal was his third of the season, tying his career-high.

LIGHTS CAUSE DELAY AT BARCLAYS:

The arena lights at Barclays Center caused a 16-minute delay at the start of the third period on Wednesday.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders take on the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night - Billy Joel Night - at NYCB Live.