It seems as if the Islanders and Penguins just cannot get away from each other, whether it be on the ice or in the standings. The two Eastern division rivals met for a second straight night on Sunday and the sixth time overall. Saturday night saw the Islanders surrender a 2-0 lead in an overtime loss, with Kris Letang sneaking a wrister past Semyon Varlamov. That was Letang’s 4th goal of the year, with all four coming against the Islanders. This game was almost like a microcosm of how Islander-Penguins have gone down this season. The Islanders analytically are the better team throughout the game, but the Penguins find a way to get the 2 points. Whether it’s on the backs of Crosby and Malkin or a stellar performance in net from Tristan Jarry, as they have customly done under Barry Trotz in the second half of a back-to-back, New York turned the page and absolutely dominated the Penguins from pillar to post. Not only did this win pull the Islanders 3 points ahead of the Penguins, but it also depicted some key takeaways for the Islanders to continue this run of success.
Takeaway #1: Oliver Wahlstrom has officially arrived
Forward Oliver Wahlstrom extended his point streak to 4 games when he blasted a one-timer from the left circle on the powerplay to give the Islanders the 1-0 lead heading into 1st intermission. Since he was drafted in 2018, all the talk around Wahlstrom has been about how lethal his shot is. Not too many can shoot the puck like this kid can, which brings a whole new element to the Islander power play. Wahlstrom later picked up an assist on J.G. Pageau’s powerplay goal in the 2nd period. The 20-year old is now up to 7 points in 14 games this year, as his confidence has kept on growing since Trotz deemed him a regular in the Islander lineup. He has found himself in a prominent role on the second PP unit along with his 5-on-5 line-mate Pageau, as well as Brock Nelson, Josh Bailey, and Nick Leddy.
Takeaway #2: Ilya Sorokin can play at the NHL level.
The Islanders found themselves in a familiar spot… up to 2-0 halfway through the game against these same Pittsburgh Penguins. Except this time, New York clamped it down for the 2-0 win. The Islanders held the Penguins to just 20 shots on goal, and rookie goaltender Ilya Sorokin was there to save them all. This was Sorokin’s second straight shutout, as the Russian net-minder has seemed to find his groove. It is fair to say that the rookie needed a few games to acclimate to the North American sized rink, as well as the different style of play the NHL possesses compared to the KHL. One thing that has stood out to me about Sorokin through his first five starts in the NHL is how effective he is on shots to his glove side. He makes some really difficult saves with the glove look relatively easy. Sorokin’s playing time has been tough to come by with Semyon Varlamov playing at a Vezina finalist type of level, but performances like the last two will surely get the White Whale in goal more frequently.
Takeaway #3: The Islanders 2nd line is back to form.
If you paid any attention to the Islanders playoff run in the bubble last summer that found them two wins away from a Stanley Cup Final appearance, you know how dominant the line of Anthony Beauvillier, Brock Nelson, and Josh Bailey was. In the 22 games the trio played in the playoffs, they scored 20 goals and accounted for a combined 52 points. The Islanders simply do not make it to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final without that production from the “Killer B’s.” They got off to a very slow start in 2021, as generating offense at even strength was a struggle out of the gate. With Beauvillier sidelined for nine games with an injury, Nelson and Bailey were unable to contribute to their liking outside of scoring on the power play. Beauvillier has been for a few games, and now that the line has been put back together, they started to really click this weekend. They were all over the Penguins this weekend, showing shades of how they were in the middle. At 5-on-5, the line had an expected goal share of 64% and accounted for 66.7% of the even-strength shots attempts for while they were on the ice via Natural Stat Trick. Mathew Barzal has been doing his thing along with Anders Lee and Jordan Eberle on line #1. Pageau and Wahlstrom have provided depth scoring on the 3rd line, so if the Nelson line can build off the success they had this weekend, the Islanders will have a formidable top 9.
New York now gets a bit of a break from the Penguins, as they will see a lot of the Devils and Sabres the next two weeks. That stretch starts on Tuesday night in Newark. With the top 5 teams in the East being so close together, it is crucial for the Islanders to take care of business against the teams below them in the standings. All in all, through 21 games, the Islanders have played some good hockey. Now just find a way to win a game in overtime.
For more NHL coverage, click here.
For the full NHL tables, click here.
