Game Recap: Sharks 4, Islanders 1

The New York Islanders ended a four-game road trip with a 4-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks, but went down swinging in a heated affair at SAP Center.
Brock Nelson scored the lone goal for the Islanders, but it was not enough to overcome a swarming Sharks attack. Timo Meier, Joonas Donskoi (1G, 1A), Brent Burns and Logan Couture (1G, 1A) scored for San Jose, while Tomas Hertl had a game-high three points.
Martin Jones made 24 saves in the win, while Robin Lehner stopped 37 in the loss. The Isles finish their western road trip with a 1-3-0 record.

Video: SJS 4 vs. NYI 1: Barry Trotz

ISLES HAVE TROUBLE WITH SHARKS SWARM:

Unlike Thursday's win over LA, the Islanders had difficulty keeping the Sharks out of high-danger areas on Saturday night.
The Sharks managed to find their way into Lehner's crease on Saturday, repeatedly getting to and crashing the net. Meier had enough time and space for several whacks at a rebound in front of the net before lifting it over Robin Lehner to make it 1-0 in the first period. Burns later shook off a check along the wall, curled off the goal line and potted a backhander to make it 3-1 in the second period.
"You talk about wanting to be hard around the cage, but we weren't as hard as we have been," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "Tonight we weren't as hard as we needed to be against a good hockey team."
The Islanders were happy to come out of the first period tied 1-1, but the tide turned in a decisive second period, as the Sharks took a 3-1 lead on goals by Donskoi and Burns, while outshooting the Islanders 15-7.
Puck management was also an issue, as both Sharks goals in the second period were created off defensive zone turnovers. Logan Couture put the game out of reach early in the third, chipping Hertl's rebound past Lehner at 4:32 of the third.
"It's the end of our road trip and we have to be mentally prepared and it just seemed like we weren't," Scott Mayfield said. "We weren't executing. You can look at my turnover, you can look at a couple other not good plays that they capitalized on and we just have to be better."

FRUSTRATIONS BOIL OVER IN FIGHT-FILLED THIRD:

The Islanders went down swinging on Saturday night, as things got testy late inside the Shark Tank. Matt Martin, Cal Clutterbuck, Casey Cizikas and Burns all got 10-minute misconducts after a brouhaha broke out with just under eight minutes to play.
The donnybrook initially started with Clutterbuck and Donskoi grappling, but escalated once Burns tripped Martin to the ice, a play the Isles took exception to after the game. Captain Anders Lee and Evander Kane dropped the gloves before the end of the game after Mayfield and Kane had previously mixed it up. Mayfield also had a scrap with Barclay Goodrow in the second period.
While the judge's scorecards didn't change the result on the ice, it served as a come together moment for the Islanders, who felt that sticking up for one another revealed some of the character of their team.
"You want to show that you have fight," Martin said. "At times we weren't fully engaged as a team and especially in the second once we had a few mistakes, the bench kind of sunk, we didn't pick each other back up and find a way to take the game back. That's disappointing, but I definitely think the third period from a physical and emotional standpoint it's a positive that we're all going to have each other's backs in here and no one is going to quit."

NOTES:

• Brock Nelson had a game-high seven shots and created a couple of high-quality chances on Saturday night. Nelson played between Anders Lee and Josh Bailey for the second straight game on the Isles new-look top line, as Trotz looked to spark his top six.
  The top line came together on the Isles only goal, with Lee touching the puck to Bailey, who made a nice move on Brenden Dillon to feed Nelson in alone for a one-timer. Nelson looked to feed Bailey on a two-on-one in the second period, but Jones broke up the pass with his stick.
  - Anthony Beauvillier missed Saturday's contest with an illness. Tom Kuhnhackl drew in for his second game of the season, recording two hits and two blocks in 11:23 TOI.
  - The Islanders power play went 0-for-1, while the penalty kill was 3-for-3.

ISLANDERS LINES:

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders return home from the road and host the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night at Barclays Center. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
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