Takeaways: Duclair, Sorokin Lead Islanders 9-0 Rout Over Devils

Head Coach Patrick Roy preaches to his team the importance of a different guy stepping up each night to contribute to the team’s success, and he saw his team buy into that big-time on Tuesday night.

Offensively, it was Anthony Duclair, whose natural hat trick and five-point performance led the way to the New York Islanders’ 9-0 win over the New Jersey Devils at UBS Arena.

It wasn’t just Duclair that stepped up offensively – as the Isles outburst featured three-point nights from Mathew Barzal (1G, 2A) and Casey Cizikas (2G, 1A) while Simon Holmstrom, Tony DeAngelo and Cal Ritchie scored to lift the Islanders to a dominant victory over a division rival.

The explosive offense was backstopped by Ilya Sorokin, who made a season-high 44 saves in his first game since Dec. 19. With his 26th career shutout, Sorokin moved past Chico Resch (25) to become the Islanders' all-time shutout leader.

“It’s a good memory,” Sorokin said. “But first of all, it’s teamwork. Without the team, I have nothing.”

Jacob Markstrom allowed nine goals on 24 shots. The lopsided decision was atypical for an Islanders-Devils matchup, as the previous two games of the season series were decided by a goal (The Isles won 3-2 win on Nov. 10 and 2-1 win on Dec. 23.)

“Let’s be fair, the team we played tonight, obviously not the New Jersey Devils,” Barzal said. “They’re better than that. But when you have those nights, you have to take them.”

TAKEAWAYS

- The Islanders were quick to get their offense going, scoring twice on their first three shots. Barzal ripped a shot from the left circle to break open the scoring 1:08 into the game for his 33^rd point of the season, which ties Bo Horvat for the team lead.

- Duclair took it from there, scoring his first goal at the 4:01 mark of the first period – snapping a 12-game goal drought – and his second at the 13:31 mark, both crisp far-side wristers. He completed his fourth-career hat-trick (and first as an Islander) early in the second period off a one-time feed from Barzal. His mother, Dominique, was in the building on Tuesday.

“Very grateful,” Duclair said. “Very thankful for all the fans too, it’s a great feeling. Shoutout to mom, she was in town and it’s her last day on the Island. I wanted to play well for her and I’m glad she got to witness that.”

- Duclair was making his return after sitting two games as a healthy scratch and made a statement with his first career five-point outing.

“It’s really rewarding for him,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said. “No one likes to be a healthy scratch, but sometimes it’s up to you to decide how you’re going to deal with it. He played an outstanding game. You always hope that games like this bring a lot of confidence to a player.”

- Sorokin faced a flurry of 44 Devils shots in his first game back since Dec. 19. He made some flashy saves – making a sharp glove save on Luke Hughes early in the game and making a paddle save on Dawson Mercer in the second period. He closed the door on the Devils to keep them scoreless to earn his fourth shutout of the season and sixth of the season for the team.

“He’s just so solid, you watch him tonight and he made some saves that were just insane,” Barzal said. “Late in the game, obviously New Jersey was trying to break the shutout, he doesn’t take a second off that guy. Honestly he works as hard as anybody I’ve ever seen. Day in, day out, practice, whatever it is. Last guy at the rink. He’s inspiring.”

- The Islanders have won nine of their last 11 games at UBS Arena, while their 14 wins on home ice ties three other teams for second-most in the NHL.

“The fans were unbelievable tonight,” Duclair said. “We were talking about it on the bench, they were chanting all game. It gives us life as players on the ice and a lot of momentum for sure.

- All nine goals were scored at even strength and their explosive effort marked the first time the Isles scored nine goals or more since Feb. 11, 2011. It also marked their sixth 9-0 win in franchise history.

- Roy pointed out the team’s confidence around the net but said they could have been better in limiting turnovers. Even after a three-goal first period and a two-goal middle frame, the Islanders kept pressing and found four more goals in the final stanza.

“The guys wanted to play a 60-minute game and we did it offensively,” Roy said. “That’s what we wanted. We made sure we started from the start to the end and not sit on any leads. That’s what our guys did.”

- Cole McWard recorded his first point as an Islander and second of his NHL career with a secondary assist in the opening frame.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders embark on a seven-game road trip that starts with a trip to Nashville to take on the Predators on Thursday. Puck drop is set for 8PM eastern.