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The New York Islanders gutted out an important 2-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night, digging deep in their fifth game in seven days.

Bo Horvat and Brock Nelson (GWG) scored for the Islanders, while Brandon Saad scored the lone goal for Vegas. Ilya Sorokin made 33 of 34 saves in his seventh straight win, while Ilya Samsonov made 12 saves on 14 shots in the loss.

The Islanders swept the season series from the Knights 2-0-0 after they shut them out 4-0 in Vegas on Jan. 9, but more importantly the Islanders picked up two more points in the standings that pulled the Islanders (57 points) within three points of the Tampa Bay Lightning (60 points) and Boston Bruins (60 points), who hold wild card spots in the Eastern Conference. The Isles have two games in hand on the Bruins, but the Bolts have played one fewer game.

“They’re a tough team,” Nelson said. “Every win right now is important and crucial for us, doesn’t matter the opponent. But to beat that team, they’re one of the better teams in the league.”

The Islanders have won eight of their last nine games, and 11 of their last 14.

VGK at NYI | Recap

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Isles got the scoring started late in the first period when Horvat received a stretch pass from Adam Pelech and broke into the zone with speed, and made a forehand-backhand move before beating Samsonov with a backhand to open the scoring at 18:21 of the first period.

“He threaded the needle there and made a great play to get it to me,” Horvat said of Pelech’s feed. “Great heads-up play by him.”

The Isles weren’t testing Samsonov much, as they recorded four shots on goal in each of the first two periods – and 14 total shots in the game - but New York had quality looks. Anthony Duclair hit the crossbar on the power play and JG Pageau was robbed by Samsonov on the side of the crease.

Saad netted his first goal as a Golden Knight when he out-muscled Pierre Engvall in the slot to sneak a backhand past Sorokin for the equalizer at 7:40 of the third period.

The Isles got it back quick when the Knights lost possession in their own zone, as Max Tsyplakov corralled the puck along the boards. Nelson, who lost his stick seconds before, grabbed a new one and rushed up ice and made a nice deflection on Alexander Romanov’s shot from the point to take a 2-1 lead at 10:43.

With Samsonov pulled, the Islanders survived a high-pressure situation in the final minutes of the third period at five-on-six. Simon Holmstrom lost his stick, but the unit banded together with Anders Lee clearing the puck in the final seconds.

“It got a little crazy, a little hairy there,” Lee said. “[Holmstrom breaks his stick and we’re all trying to stay in our lanes. They set up on top, but our defense did a great job tying them so we were able to get the puck and poke it away.”

VGK@NYI: Horvat scores goal against Ilya Samsonov

PROTECTING THE HOUSE

The Islanders protected home ice on Tuesday, extending their home winning streak to six games.

The Islanders were outshot 34-14, which marks the second fewest shots they’ve had in a game this season. (The Isles had 13 shots ina 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 8.)

While Vegas was credited with 14 high-danger chances at five-on-five, Head Coach Patrick Roy was happy with his team’s defensive play overall.

“I know we gave up a lot of shots, but I thought we did a really good job protecting the house and leaving them on the outside,” Roy said.

The Islanders put up four shots in each of the first two periods and Ilya Sorokin made a huge difference, stopping all 19 shots faced through the first 40 minutes.

"There were no rebounds tonight from [Sorokin], he ate them all up," Lee said. "He eliminated a lot of secondary opportunities."

The Islanders’ six-game home winning streak marks their longest since March 10th – 22nd of 2022, improving their record on home ice to 13-11-2.

“Our fans deserve to see us play good hockey in front of them,” Roy said. “It’s nice to hear them after wins and it’s a good feeling for everybody.”

VGK@NYI: Nelson scores goal against Ilya Samsonov

LINEUP NOTES

Roy kept his lines the same from Sunday. Mathew Barzal (lower-body, IR) and Scott Mayfield (lower-body, day to day) missed their second consecutive game.

ODDS AND ENDS

  • Max Tsyplakov extended his assist streak to four games with four helpers over that span.
  • Bo Horvat recorded his team-leading 40th point of the season. The center has nine career 40-point seasons.
  • Casey Cizikas led the team with seven hits.
  • Adam Pelech recorded a team-high six shots on goal.
  • The Islanders penalty kill is 25-for-27 in their last 14 games (92.6%).

NOTABLE QUOTE

Roy on his team’s resilience

“Five games in seven days, and we have so many injuries. We keep playing. We don’t want to go down. They tied the game and we didn’t feel sorry for ourselves. We kept batting and found a way to get the next one.”

NEXT GAME

The Islanders have two days between games before they head to Winnipeg to take on the Jets on Friday in the first half of a back-to-back set that sees the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. eastern.

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