Takeaways: Islanders Fall 4-1 to Kings

The New York Islanders fell 4-1 to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night, finishing their California road trip with a record of 1-2-0.

Anders Lee scored the lone goal for New York, while Vladislav Gavrikov, Phillip Danault, Quinton Byfield (SHG) and Drew Doughty (SHG – ENG) powered the offense for Los Angeles. Ilya Sorokin stopped 28-of-31 shots in defeat and Darcy Kuemper made 33 saves in the win.

The frustration level was high after the game, as the Islanders had two goals overturned for goalie interference and allowed a shorthanded goal after a broken stick led to a Kings breakaway. Bad luck aside, Head Coach Patrick Roy and the players felt that it was their best effort of the road trip.

“We had a lot of good chances, a lot of grade-A’s,” Roy said. “The second and third period were probably our best of the road trip. It’s too bad sometimes, we found a way to lose that game.”

With the loss, the Isles (65 points) remain five points back of the Columbus Blue Jackets (70 points), who fell to the New Jersey Devils, for the second wild card spot. The Ottawa Senators (73 points), Montreal Canadiens (68 points) and Boston Bruins (68 points) all won on Tuesday, while the New York Rangers (68 points) fell in regulation.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Past matchups predicted a low-scoring affair and goaltending on either side was noticeably sharp off the bat. Kings leading scorer Adrian Kempe broke into the Isles zone shorthanded, but Sorokin made one of his best saves to keep the game scoreless. At the other end of the ice, Anthony Duclair had a quality chance for the Islanders, driving to the net but Kuemper denied him at the doorstep.

The Kings broke through on a delayed penalty at the 15:33 mark of the first period, when Anze Kopitar snuck a pass to Gavrikov, whose shot from the point ripped through Sorokin to take a 1-0 advantage.

The Isles found their first goal of the game in the second period when JG Pageau carried the puck down the right side and sent a centering feed to Lee, who unleashed a shot from the slot to tie the score at one apiece at the 8:37 mark.

The Kings took the lead right back 37 seconds later, as Warren Foegele and Trevor Moore applied pressure on the forecheck and caused a turnover in the Isles zone. Danault received a pass from Moore at the top of the left circle and fired a shot past Sorokin at 9:14 of the second period.

The Islanders thought they’d tied the score, as Simon Holmstrom tried to stuff the puck through the pads of Kuemper and Duclair cleaned up the loose change, but the goal was overturned for goaltender interference.

Instead of being tied, Los Angeles took a 3-1 advantage when Tony DeAngelo’s stick exploded at the point on a power play, sending Byfield in alone to burying a shorthanded goal for the Kings at the 14:00 mark of the middle frame.

“How many times do you see a [player] on the power play receive a pass, get a broken stick and get scored on,” Roy said. “It’s hard to believe sometimes, but those things happen.”

New York had its second goal overturned after a coach’s challenge when Lee got the puck on his stick at the left side of the crease and shelved a no-look backhand past Kuemper, but the refs ruled that there was goaltender interference.

Down 3-1 late, Doughty scored his second goal of the season with a shorthanded empty-net goal with 1:17 left in the game. Though a frustrating defeat, the Islanders can learn from it and take the positives into their next game.

“It’s all you can do, turn the page and take the positives from tonight. Definitely some learning spots as well,” Lee said. “We’ll assess the game, make our adjustments and continue to play hard.”

SPECIAL TEAMS SHAPE THE GAME

The Kings entered the game with the 11^th-ranked penalty kill (80.9%) and their shorthanded units came up big on Tuesday night, going a perfect 8-for-8.

For the Islanders, it felt like a missed opportunity with eight opportunities with the man advantage, including 1:01 with a five-on-three. The Islanders recorded 16 shots on goal on the power play, but went 0-for-8 for the first time since Nov. 11, 2008 – albeit with two overturned tallies

“I don’t think the scoresheet tells the story,” Noah Dobson said. “We had two taken back, we had a lot of pucks to the net, a lot of chances. It wasn’t going in tonight for us. It’s unfortunate. We have to find a way to capitalize because it was the difference.”

The Islanders also allowed two shorthanded goals in the contest for the first time since March 3, 2020, though the second was a long-range empty-netter.

LINEUP NOTES

Kyle MacLean returned to the lineup after he missed Sunday’s contest with an illness. MacLean recorded one shot on goal, one takeaway in 9:06 TOI on a line with Hudson Fasching and Marc Gatcomb.

Pierre Engvall skated 10:21 and recorded three hits and one shot on a line with Casey Cizikas and Max Tsyplakov.

BAoqvist left the game after absorbing a hit from Kevin Fiala in the neutral zone and did not return. Roy had no update on the defenseman postgame.

ODDS AND ENDS

• Bo Horvat and Kyle Palmieri tied for the team lead of five shots on goal.
• Max Tsyplakov led the team with two takeaways.
• Noah Dobson led the team with 24:56 TOI.
• Anders Lee recorded his 498^th career point against the Kings with a second period goal.
• The Islanders have lost five straight games in LA, each by at least three goals.

NOTABLE QUOTE

Anders Lee on the Islanders’ battle level against the Kings:

“I thought we responded well throughout the game. With calls and goals going the other way, we fought this one out until the end and gave ourselves a chance.”

NEXT GAME

The Islanders return home to take on the Edmonton Oilers at UBS Arena on Friday. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.