Takeaways: Islanders Fall to Stars 4-3

The New York Islanders went into the 4 Nations break on a losing note and came out of the break on one, falling 4-3 to the Dallas Stars on Sunday night at UBS Arena.

The loss was the Islanders’ third straight regulation defeat, the first time since Dec. 29, 2024 – Jan. 2, 2025 the Isles had dropped three consecutive games.

Pierre Engvall, Kyle Palmieri and Anthony Duclair scored for the Islanders, but Jason Robertson’s hat trick – including a pair of power-play goals on a major penalty – and an early tally from Sam Steel powered the two points for the Stars.

Ilya Sorokin stopped 25 of 29 in the loss, while Jake Oettinger stopped 34 of 37 in the win.

With the loss, the Islanders (57 points) remain five points back of the Ottawa Senators (62 points) for the second wild card spot. The New York Rangers (60 points) and Detroit Red Wings (64 points) both won on Sunday.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The two-week break showed early for the Islanders, as Dallas – who played Saturday night – jumped out to a 1-0 lead 2:10 into the game with Steel depositing a loose puck. The Isles stabilized, with Engvall evening the scoring at 3:44 of the second period, as his backhander off the rush seemed to surprise Oettinger, netting his first goal since Nov. 19.

Robertson’s first of the game – a low, hard shot from the slot after an Islanders failed clearing attempt – made it 2-1 at 8:48, but the Isles responded seven seconds later. Palmieri took a home-run pass from DeAngelo into the zone, then blew a tire, got back up and roofed a shot over Oettinger in one continuous motion at 8:55.

That had the Isles squared with one of the league’s top teams, but Casey Cizikas’ five-minute major – and match penalty – for an illegal check to the head of Liam Bichsel was the “key moment” – Head Coach Patrick Roy’s words – on Sunday night. The Stars’ power play only wound up being three minutes – a Matt Dumba instigator led to two minutes of four-on-four hockey – but produced two goals, as Robertson lit the lamp twice for Dallas.

The two-time 40-goal scorer proved why to put Dallas up 3-2, roofing a shot from a sharp angle after a backdoor feed from Roope Hintz at 15:53. Robertson made it 4-2 less than two minutes later, burying a Wyatt Johnston rebound at 17:28.

“It was probably a key moment in that game,” Roy said. “Unfortunately for us, we were not able to kill that penalty.”

The Isles pressed in the third period, outshooting the Stars 11-5 in the final frame. Duclair cut the deficit to 4-3 by backhanding a rebound through Oettinger at 9:17 and JG Pageau seemingly tied the score with 4:52 to play, but the goal was immediately called back to goalie interference, as Engvall was in the crease and bumped the Dallas defender into Oettinger.

New York continued to press late, but came up empty on a late power play and Simon Holmstrom’s last gasp at the buzzer went wide.

“It’s one of those nights where we fought to the end and came up just short,” Captain Anders Lee said.

NEWS AND NOTES:

- Duclair’s goal snapped a seven-game drought for the Islanders forward. Roy praised Duclair, who has been hampered by injuries this season, saying he had some noticeable jump in his game.

“On that goal, it's the nice to see the guy that I know he's capable of me on every shift,” Roy said. “It was step in the right direction.”

- The Islanders’ six-game home winning streak came to a close on Sunday.

- Brock Nelson recorded the 567^th point of his career, passing Pat LaFontaine for sole possession of eighth on the Islanders’ all-time scoring list.

LINEUP NOTES:

Ryan Pulock and Scott Mayfield both returned to the lineup after multiple game absences. Pulock started the game on a pair with Scott Perunovich while Mayfield was paired with Adam Pelech. Dennis Cholowski and Adam Boqvist came out of the lineup.

Pulock played 20:27 TOI with two shots and four blocked shots.

Mayfield played 10:36 with two blocked shots, one takeaway and a pair of giveaways.

NOTABLE QUOTE:

Patrick Roy on Pulock and Mayfield:

“They played a good game. I mean sure Mayfield would like to see the play on the PK in the first goal, but I thought he played a good game. And same thing with Pulock. I think Pulock had a really good game and started to feel more comfortable towards the end. He had a great rush in the end and when he's moving offensively, I know that he is.”

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders host the New York Rangers on Tuesday night. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.