Takeaways: Isles Late Push Falls Short in 4-3 Loss to Jets

The New York Islanders hung with the NHL’s top team on Friday night, but came up just short in a 4-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre.

Simon Holmstrom and Marc Gatcomb had the Islanders up 1-0 and 2-1, but a three-goal second period – including a pair of goals by Gabriel Vilardi – gave the Jets enough runway to outlast an Isles comeback bid. Kyle Palmieri netted a third period goal for the Islanders, while Nikolaj Ehlers and Alex Iafallo rounded out the scoring for Winnipeg.

Ilya Sorokin stopped 23-of-27 shots in the loss, while Connor Hellebuyck stopped 32-fo-35 in the win.

“We did a lot of good things tonight,” Bo Horvat said. “There's a reason they’re at the top of the standings. I thought we fought, but at the end of the day, we just didn't get the job done tonight.”

With the loss – just the Islanders third in the past 11 games – the Isles (57 points) remain four points back of the Detroit Red Wings (61 points) for the second wild card spot in the East.

“It was a good effort by our guys,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said. “I thought it was a hard-fought game. We had our chances at the end… sometimes the game is a question of inches.”

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Islanders brought an 11-2-1 record in Winnipeg into Friday – and it looked like that streak would continue early, as Holmstrom opened the scoring 65 seconds in. It was a bit of a gift, as his centering feed for JG Pageau deflected off Neal Pionk and through Hellebuyck.

The Jets got it back relatively quickly, as Iafallo rushed up the ice, broke a hold by Bo Horvat, kept, shot and roofed a two-on-one rush over Sorokin to make it 1-1 at 4:27.

Gatcomb restored the lead with his third goal in the past five games, backhanding a Winnipeg giveaway past Hellebuyck from the slot.

While the Isles managed the first well, the Jets showed off their league-leading pedigree in the second, outshooting the Isles 12-7 and turning a 2-1 Isles lead into a 4-2 Jets advantage.

“I thought in the first we were great,” Horvat said. “In the second we kind of let our foot off the gas.”

Winnipeg tied the score 4:23 into the second period, as Vilardi converted a two-on-one rush with Kyle Connor after a Tony DeAngelo pass was intercepted on an odd-man rush for the Isles.

The Jets took their first lead of the game late in the second period, as Cole Perfetti dished a no-look pass from behind the net to a streaking Ehlers who beat Sorokin at 14:50. Vilardi made it 4-2, finishing off some slick passing by roofing a shot from the slot high on Sorokin at 18:18.

“We maybe made it a little easy on them, as far as giving pucks away and not being smart coming through the neutral zone,” Palmieri said of the Isles second period.

While the Jets entered the game 29-0-1 when leading after two periods, the Isles put a scare into Winnipeg. Palmieri made it a one-goal game with his goal at 11:07 of the third period, capping off some Isles pressure by sweeping an Alex Romanov rebound around Hellebuyck.

The pressure didn’t end there – the Isles outshot the Jets 19-6 in the third period – as Hellebuyck rounded into Vezina form, stopping the Islanders final 14 shots, including a barrage where the Isles had eight shots in under two minutes.

“He's the goalie he is for a reason, and his record shows that,” Palmieri said of Hellebuyck. “He made some big saves.”

TAKEAWAYS:

- The Islanders penalty kill passed a big test on Friday, going 2-for-2 against the Jets’ leading-leading power play. Winnipeg managed five shots with the man advantage.

- The Islanders power play went 0-for-3, but got better as the game wore on. The first two power plays yielded more shots for the shorthanded Jets (2) than New York had shots, but the Isles peppered Hellebuyck with seven shots on their final man advantage. Roy said that could be a blueprint for the power play on nights where the perfect play isn’t available.

- While the Isles weren’t using Friday as a measuring stick, hanging with the league-leaders, and maybe the only team hotter than the Isles, put the result in perspective, even though the team rued the points they missed.

- It was hard to find fault in Sorokin's game, given the quality of the chances on the Jets' goals. Second period aside, the Islanders made sure their netminder didn't see an overwhelming amount of shots, which could be key as Sorokin is slated to start again on Sunday. Sorokin had his seven-game winning streak snapped on Friday.

ODDS AND ENDS:

- Friday’s loss marked just the Islanders third regulation loss in Winnipeg since the Jets relocated in 2011 (11-3-1) and first time losing consecutive games in regulation.

- Horvat had a team-high nine shot attempts

- Tony DeAngelo skated a team-high 27:10

- Holmstrom hit the 30-point mark for the first time in his career. He's one goal shy of matching his career-high (15).

LINEUP NOTES:

No notes. The Isles went with the same lineup from Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Vegas.

NOTABLE QUOTE:

Brock Nelson on the Isles ability to play with the NHL’s best:

"There's no doubt in our group for sure and we think we can win every night, obviously we have to play to a certain way and a certain standard to give yourself a chance, but I think we've been doing that."

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders play their final game before the 4 Nations Face-Off on Saturday night when they visit the Minnesota Wild. Puck drop is at 8 p.m. eastern.