Takeaways: Isles Point Streak Snapped in 5-4 Loss to Jets

The New York Islanders’ four-game point streak came to a close on Tuesday, as they fell 5-4 to the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre.

Anthony Duclair, Emil Heineman, Kyle MacLean and Matthew Schaefer scored for the Islanders, who briefly climbed out of a 3-0 deficit, but couldn’t overcome an explosive night from the resurgent Jets. Kyle Connor (1G, 1A), Josh Morrissey, Jonathan Toews, Dylan DeMelo and Adam Lowry (1G, 1A) scored for Winnipeg, who won their third straight game.

Ilya Sorokin stopped 17-of-22 shots in the loss, while Connor Hellebuyck stopped 23-of-27 in the win.

In the process, Isles suffered their first regulation loss on their road trip, dropping to 1-1-1 through three games.

“I thought going into the third period tonight it was going to be one of those games where we were going to find a way,” Anders Lee said. “We ran out of time a little bit, but defensively we have to be better. There’s no question about that, we know that in this room it wasn’t our best tonight.”

TAKEAWAYS:

Tuesday’s game was a whacky one, especially during a frantic second period that saw the teams combine for seven goals. It started with a pair of tallies from Morrissey and Toews 42 seconds apart to extend a 1-0 Jets' lead into a three-goal hole for the Isles.

Credit to the Islanders for not laying down, as they wiped out the three-goal deficit in less than three minutes. Duclair put the Islanders on the board with a short-side squeaker through Hellebuyck at the 7:40 to kickstart the rally. Heineman followed it up 1:18 later on a penalty shot, opting to deke Hellebuyck instead of the usual shoot-first approach that's been his trademark in shootouts this season. The Isles rode the momentum, with Casey Cizikas forcing a turnover with a good forecheck on Neal Pionk before feeding MacLean in the slot for his second goal of the season at 10:21.

Unfortunately for the Islanders, a tie was the best they could do, with DeMelo’s point shot making it 4-3 at the 12:23 mark – and Lowry deflecting the 5-3 tally with 20 seconds to play in the middle frame. Schaefer gave the Isles a glimmer of hope scoring with 45.1 seconds to play, but that’s as close as the Isles came.

“It was good that we showed some resilience getting that three-goal deficit back,” MacLean said. “I think we need to clean some things up and the timing on those last two goals was tough.”

- If Saturday’s game in Minnesota was a big test in the figurative sense, Tuesday’s game in Winnipeg was a big test in the literal one, as the Isles had trouble with the Jets’ size and clearing the front of their net. Morrissey and DeMelo’s point shots were made possible by screens in front of Sorokin and Toews was stationed at the far post unimpeded before collecting a puck that hit him in the chest and dropped down. Lowry’s 5-3 goal was a tip at the top of the crease and even Mark Scheifele’s disallowed goal came with the Jets forward crowding the crease at the side of the net. Head Coach Patrick Roy said the Isles defensive structure was fine – they only allowed 22 shots – but that certain fundamentals – like clearing the net – had to be better.

The Jets’ size and net-front presence made Sorokin’s night a difficult one – as he let in five goals in a game for the first time this season, including four on Winnipeg’s first 14 shots. It was an outlier in what’s been a really strong two-month stretch for the Islanders netminder. The Isles were able to get to Hellebuyck too, upending the goalie duel narrative that preceeded the game.

“They were hungry around the net and that’s where you have to be hungry,” Lee said. “They got some greasy ones cause they went and worked for it.”

- For a second straight game, the Islanders dealt with a opposition top line that lived up to its billing. Scheifele recorded a pair of assists – and a disallowed goal thanks to a play off his hand – while Connor had a goal and an assist and the duo had a pair of two-on-one rushes thwarted by Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech, respectively. Throw in a goal from Morrissey and the Jets got big production from their big guns.

- Schaefer had an eventful night on Tuesday. He took a hit from Morrissey in the first period that briefly sent him to the locker room for concussion protocol, though Roy said Schaefer had the wind knocked out of him. Schaefer was hobbled by a Luke Schenn slap shot off the knee in the second, but was able to shake it off and stay in the game.

He still played 22:39 and looked no worse for wear at the end of the game, as he hustled back and laid out to take an empty-netter away from Connor with just over a minute to play and scored to make it 5-4 with 45.1 seconds to play with a wrister through traffic.

“It’s a tough league and he’s going to take some bumps some nights,” Lee said of Schaefer. “Glad to see that was just fine.”

NEXT GAME

The Islanders seven-game road trip continues in Edmonton on Thursday night. Puck drop is at 9 PM est.