Notebook: Isles Get Point in OT Loss to Blues

The Islanders earned a point in a hard-fought 3-2 overtime loss to St. Louis on Thursday night at Enterprise Center. Jordan Eberle and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored to put the Isles up 2-0, but Colton Parayko completed a Blues comeback with a wraparound to seal the victory for St. Louis 3:23 into overtime. Brayden Schenn and Vince Dunn scored in regulation for St. Louis.
"We'll take the point," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "But we have another level. They've been pretty good in this building. It's disappointing we didn't get two points], but we got one."
**[BOXSCORE | TROTZ POSTGAME**

The Islanders soundly dominated the first period and frequently tested St. Louis netminder Jordan Binnington with legitimate chances on 12 shots.
During the Islanders first power play of the night - as a result of Jaden Schwartz's delay of game penalty - Pageau put the Isles on the board and scored their third power play goal in the last four games. Positioned in the bumper spot, the newly acquired center buried Mathew Barzal's pass past Binnington at 8:20.

Eberle doubled the Isles lead with just under four minutes left in the period. A terrific forechecking by Josh Bailey allowed Barzal to grab the Blues turnover at the blueline and attack the offensive zone. Lee drew two St. Louis defenseman in the high slot, while Eberle crashed the back door. The shifty winger showcased his snazzy hands as he shimmied Binnington off of his line and lifted a backhander into the net.
Despite the Islanders dominating possession and the rhythm of the first period, the Blues showed their grit and ended the period with some much-needed momentum. The Blues capitalized on a forced turnover at the Islanders blueline as they created a chance on the fly. Schenn buried a one-timer from Ryan O'Reilly past Thomas Greiss with 55 seconds left in the period.
The second period took a turn. St. Louis carried momentum over from their late first period goal and proceeded to hold the Isles to just five shots for the remainder of the game, including overtime.
"We got on their heels a bit and we lost some battle," Eberle said. "In the first [period] we tested [Binnington] a ton with a ton of chances. I think it all factors into playing on your heels a bit and waiting for them to do something. We've got to find a way to continue to stay with the process and go after them. That's how you want to increase your lead."
The Blues' late first period goal gave the reigning Stanley Cup champs a powerful boost in the second period. The Isles fell flat to the Blues in the middle frame, as St. Louis was dominant and held the Isles only one shot on goal compared to their 10.

"The whole momentum [there] and then in the second period I thought we refused to get pucks behind their D," Trotz said. "They have a lot of length and good sticks and they track. They're a team that plays a 200-foot game. They always have back pressure. We wanted to play a east-west, lateral game and when you have no space to do that you're just going to turn pucks over. Therefore, we generated zero offense because we were unwilling to play the game that's presented for the first 10 minutes. The second 10-minutes I thought we were fine. The third period I thought we were OK. They weren't generating a lot and we weren't generating a lot. We had a little better spacing."
The Isles were awarded their third second power play of the night with six minutes left in regulation as Dunn was called for interference on Ryan Pulock. The Blues came up with a big penalty kill to hold the Isles off from extending their lead. With just under two-minutes left in the game, a failed clear by the Isles landed right on Dunn's stick and St. Louis defenseman blasted his slap shot past Greiss to tie the score 2-2 and send the game into overtime.
Instead of their usual trio of Anthony Beauvillier, Nick Leddy and Brock Nelson to start overtime, Trotz sent the combination of Bailey, Pageau and Leddy over the boards to start the three-on-three session.
Eventually, the Blues broke through, as Paryako took the puck behind the cage and tucked it in off Beauvillier's stick just as Greiss - who lost his stick after missing a pokecheck - slid across and extended his pad. Greiss' lunging effort was too late as Paryako had slipped the puck across the goal line and clinched the overtime 'W' for the Blues.

PAGEAU STAYS HOT:

After scoring in his Islanders debut on Tuesday against the Rangers, Pageau scored again on Thursday and added to his career high in goals. The first-period goal was Pageau's 26th of the year and career-high fifth power-play goal.
"He's a good support option," Trotz said of fitting Pageau in the power play's bumper spot. "He's got lots of courage to get in those hard areas and keep pucks alive. I think he's smart enough to understand what the outs are for guys and the pressure situations. We thought that was a good spot for him to go in with our group and give us some flexibility."
With Pageau centering the Isles third line between Michael Dal Colle and Josh Bailey, he has provided increased stability for the Isles to comfortably roll four lines and have consistency at the faceoff circle. Trotz used the center in a variety of situations and sent him over the boards to start overtime.
"It's pretty easy to trust him," Trotz said. "If you're detailed and on the right side of the puck and make good decisions it's pretty easy to trust a player."

LEE, BARZAL AND EBERLE EXTEND POINT STREAKS:

The Islanders top line of Barzal, Lee and Eberle has been on a tear of late. Eberle and Barzal extended their point streaks to five games each, while Lee has seven points (2G, 5A) through his last four games. Barzal, who leads the Isles in points (54), registered two assists on the night and has had eight helpers through his last five games. Eberle's rolling with the scoring touch with five goals in his last five games and two assists.
"We were creating a bit especially in the first [period] there," Eberle said. "The biggest thing is when you're playing well, you want to just continue to do the things that let you play well."

JOHNSTON AND DOBSON RETURN TO THE LINEUP:

Ross Johnston and Noah Dobson drew back into the lineup on Thursday.
Johnston returned to the lineup being a healthy scratch for four-straight games. Johnston logged 6:46, threw three hits and had one shot on net as he played alongside Otto Koivula and Leo Komarov.
With Andy Greene being sidelined following a collision along the boards in the first period of Tuesday's rivalry game, Dobson played for the first time five games. Dobson played 9:41 and had one block.

GREISS MANS THE PIPES:

After Semyon Varlamov strung together six-straight starts, Greiss made his first appearance since Feb. 13 as he got the start between the pipes against St. Louis. Greiss made 29 saves on the 32 shots he saw and displayed his acrobatics as the Blues tested him often near the goal mouth.
"Greiss was fine, I didn't mind his game," Trotz said. "They put a lot of pucks on him and tried to make it chaotic in the crease area. I think they did."

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders return to Long Island as they host Boston for a Saturday matinee game at NYCB Live. Puck drop is at 1 p.m. ET.