Holmstrom scores twice, Islanders hold off Flames

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Simon Holmstrom scored two goals, and the New York Islanders won 3-2 against the Calgary Flames at UBS Arena on Saturday.

“I thought we played a solid game,” Holmstrom said. “It was our first game together for me, (Brayden) Schenn and (Anthony) Duclair. I thought we played a pretty solid game…I think we all know that we can play better as well, so there are definitely things to work on, but I think we did a pretty good job.”

Casey Cizikas added a goal for the Islanders (38-24-5), who rebounded after a 3-2 loss against the Los Angeles Kings on Friday and have won three of four. David Rittich made 30 saves.

“We had a really good first period,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “We had a good jump. I mean, we scored three goals. I was pretty pleased with the way we came out, and that was part of what we talked about before the game. And we want to get off to a good start. And we had that good start we were looking for.”

Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman scored for the Flames (26-33-7), who have lost three of their past four games (1-3-0). Devin Cooley allowed three goals on 10 shots before Dustin Wolf took over in relief to start the second period. Wolf stopped all 17 shots he faced.

“There's no quit from anyone here,” Backlund said. “All the guys are fighting hard. It doesn't matter the score. We keep trying until the end. So I'm really proud of the guys. We put ourselves in a tough spot. It was not what we wanted, but we had a really good third period and a pretty even second. We want to get that first period back, but it was a great effort…we want to play the right way every night, battle every game, and compete hard. There aren’t that many games left, but we can take advantage of it and really enjoy it and go out there and play for each other. That's been my message to the guys.”

Cizikas gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 10:06 of the first period, skating in on the goal line and jamming in a rebound of his initial shot.

Holmstrom extended the Islanders’ lead to 2-0 off the rush at 16:35. Schenn fed Holmstrom on a 2-on-1 before he beat Cooley high blocker side from the low slot.

Then, at 19:35, Holmstrom beat Cooley five-hole on a short-handed breakaway to give the Islanders a 3-0 lead.

Flames coach Ryan Huska elected to make a goaltender change after the first period. 

“I mean, the goals that we gave up…the first one's a funny bounce in the corner, and they were able to get a net drive there,” Huska said. “And then there's a couple of odd-man rushes against that Cooley doesn't have a big chance to make those saves for us tonight, but it was just more of changing it up a little bit and having a little bit of a fresh start for the third period. And I thought Wolf came in and did an excellent job. He made a few big saves for us, and it allowed us to hang around for a bit, to give us an opportunity to get a point out here.”

Backlund got the Flames on the board at 2:17 of the third period to cut their deficit to 3-1. He deflected an Olli Maatta point shot in the slot past Rittich’s glove.

Coleman made it a 3-2 game at 8:28. Off the rush, Coleman got behind the Islanders’ defense before he cut across the crease and beat Rittich glove side.

“It's hard coming back in this league. Teams are too good. Players are too good,” Schenn said. “You even see it tonight. They pushed, and we were still able to hold on. I think, as a team, we have to manage the puck a little bit better, especially when we're tired on back to backs and not let them keep coming at us in waves. But ultimately, the guys did the job when it mattered most. I thought we were pretty solid for the last seven, eight minutes of the game, and locked it down and didn't really give much.”

NOTES: Holmstrom became the Islanders’ second player with multiple short-handed goals this season, joining Jean-Gabriel Pageau (three). Holmstrom matched the eighth-most shorthanded goals in a season for the franchise when he had five in 2023-24. … Backlund scored his 230th career goal and surpassed Kent Nilsson (229) for sole possession of the fifth-most in Flames history. … Scott Mayfield played in his 600th NHL game for the Islanders. … The Islanders lead the NHL with 25 one-goal victories. The only time they’ve had more in a single season was 2014-15 (26).