The New York Islanders took two periods and 17 minutes of the last frame to squeak a goal past Jordan Binnington before the St. Louis Blues’ goalie and defense fended off late-game flurries from the Islanders, handing them a 2-1 loss at UBS Arena on Saturday.
New York dropped their first game in their homestand after going 6-1-0 on the road. The Blues, meanwhile, have not yet surrendered their season after losing four consecutive games before tonight’s win.
Game Recap
The Blues wasted no time opening the scoring as Pavel Buchnevich and Brayden Schenn jumped on a 2-on-1 odd-man rush as the former dished a pass to the latter, and Schenn buried the first goal of the game in the first minute to give his team an early 1-0 lead. The game settled as both teams traded shots for an even number of shots on goal. Mathew Barzal committed a hooking penalty, leading to St. Louis’ first power play of the night.
Goalie Ilya Sorokin anchored the defense between the pipes as he denied two successive shots before defenseman Matthew Schaefer cleared a possession. Jean-Gabriel Pageau rushed on a breakaway opportunity for a shorthanded goal and drew a penalty for the Islanders, closing out the first period.
With the man-advantage, Schaefer slipped a pass to Bo Horvat for a one-timer from the right faceoff circle, which Binnington turned away. The Blues also cleared the puck, successfully killing New York’s power play. The two teams exchanged chances on the net with both of the goalies stepping up to deny shots, and defensemen fending off shots with their sticks and bodies. St. Louis snuck another goal after Dylan Holloway rifled a shot, which deflected off Sorokin’s pad as Pius Suter seized the puck to dump a goal, extending the Blues’ lead to 2-0, rounding out the second period.
The Islanders turned their offense up a notch after sharing the neutral zone with St. Louis. New York applied pressure as they held an ample amount of time in the offensive zone. The Blues managed to thwart their attempts, going on a 2-on-1 rush as Nathan Walker threaded the puck to unleash a shot that went wide. The Islanders responded with their own breakaway chance, as Anders Lee let go of a shot, which Binnington swatted away.
New York kept their foot on the gas pedal, firing shots from all cylinders. St. Louis weathered the storm with cohesive net-front defense, swiping the puck away for an odd-man rush, as Holloway fed the puck to Jordan Kyrou for a shot, which Sorokin stopped. The Islanders finally got a crack at the goal after relentless pursuit with Lee drilling a rebound from Barzal’s one-timer as New York got themselves a lifeline with a few minutes left to play.
The Islanders’ goal got overturned; however, a double high stick penalty rewarded them with a power play. With Sorokin pulled, the Blues shut down attempts at a game-tying goal with Binnington coming up with saves and the defense rejecting shots, to seal a 2-1 victory.
What’s Next?
The Islanders will play back-to-back games as they will host the Seattle Kraken tomorrow. Meanwhile, the Blues will travel to the Big Apple for a showdown with the New York Rangers on Monday.
