Takeaways: Islanders Grind Out 2-1 Win Over Devils in Rivalry Showdown

The New York Islanders dug deep and pulled off a 2-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night, picking up a big two points before the holiday break, snapping a three-game winless skid.

Adam Pelech broke a 1-1 deadlock with 1:15 to play and Simon Holmstrom (1G, 1A) scored for the Islanders while David Rittich turned aside 31 of 32 shots in the win. Brett Pesce scored the lone goal for New Jersey and Jacob Markstrom made 23 saves in the loss.

It was a big two points against a division rival, as the two teams entered the night one point apart in the tight Metropolitan Division standings. The Islanders (44 points) jumped over the Philadelphia Flyers for second place in the Metro, while the Devils remained in sixth place with 41 points.

“I thought our guys were very focused, we all knew what was at stake,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said after the win. “It was important for us to have a strong game. It’s a big difference in the standings, losing or winning that game, and I think we’re going to look at the standings a lot until the end of the year.”

TAKEAWAYS

- The Islanders got their first lead late in the third period when Pelech netted his second goal of the season with 1:15 left in the third period to take a 2-1 lead. Holmstrom’s one-timer missed the net on the left side, as his rebound caromed off the boards and right to Pelech in the left dot, who buried the go-ahead goal.

“It was fun to be behind the bench in a game like this,” Roy said. “The fans were into it, it was an exciting game, lot of chances on both sides.”

- The Islanders surrendered the first goal of the game when Pesce opened the scoring at the 15:35 mark, taking a pass from Nico Hischier with all sorts of time and space. The Isles found the equalizer off a lucky break, when Markstrom misplayed the puck, as he shot it off Jonas Siegenthaler and into the hands of Holmstrom, who took deposited the puck into the open net at the 12:10 mark of the second period to tie the score.

“We’ll take that bounce, it ends up on his stick,” Anders Lee said. “It’s an example of always putting pressure on, something good might happen.”

- Rittich was sharp early, facing a flurry of Devils shots in the first period and turning aside 14-of-15 in the opening 20 minutes. He robbed Jack Hughes on a breakaway in the second period to keep the Isles within one. With the game tied at one apiece in the third, he stuck with Connor Brown and denied his shot from the right side of the crease before he came up with another big save on a shot from Luke Hughes, making the stop with his leg and losing his skate blade in the process. The Isles home crowd got into it, as “Rittich” chants echoed through the arena. After the game, the netminder said he appreciated the love from the fans. He got the love from his teammates too, earning the Iron Man mask after his eighth win of the season.

“He made huge saves for us,” Roy said. “Even in the first, he kept us in the game, and we had a really strong second period, but in the third, the moment we gave up a few chances he came up big. I love his energy out there. He battles, he fights and it’s impressive.”

- Similar to Saturday’s game where the Isles allowed a lot of shots early and settled in midway through the contest, the Islanders had a strong defensive period in the middle frame where they limited the Devils to six shots on goal while putting together a 14-shot effort.

- Marshall Warren made his debut on home ice in his fourth NHL game. He recorded two hits, three shots on goal – including a grade-A chance in the slot in the first period - in 14:24 TOI with friends and family in the building.

- Cal Ritchie collided with Nico Hischier in front of the crease. The 20-year-old center missed the rest of the first period but was back on the ice in the second period.

- There were no penalties taken by either team in the contest, marking the first game of the season that the Islanders did not take or draw a penalty.

NEXT GAME

The Islanders and the NHL are off for three days for the holiday break. The Islanders return to action on Saturday when they host the New York Rangers at 6PM.