Early Saturday afternoon, the New York Islanders made the short trip through the Lincoln Tunnel to face the New Jersey Devils. The ride back will feel even shorter as they took down the Devils by a score of 1-0. Ilya Sorokin bounced back nicely, stopping all 25 for his fourth shutout of the season. They improve to 35-33-12; the Devils fall to 41-32-7.
The Islanders thought they scored first but it was immediately called ‘no goal’ as Bo Horvat batted the puck in with his hand. Then they proceeded to hit two posts and a crossbar, as the opening frame ended in a scoreless tie.
Six minutes into the second, Paul Cotter hit Adam Pelech up high and was given a match penalty. The Islanders got a five-minute power play but only mustered one shot: an easy save for Jacob Markstrom. Then they hit the crossbar again but scored a few minutes later as Timo Meier gave the puck away to Bo Horvat, who roofed it.
Horvat scored that! ????#Isles | @ford pic.twitter.com/WCBgG5Wqm9
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) April 13, 2025
In the third, the Devils started to really push as time ticked with repeated shifts in the offensive zone, but Sorokin stood tall. Then the Islanders did a great job pressing to keep Markstrom from coming off for the extra attacker. By the time he did, there were less than 30 seconds left. The Devils had trouble getting set up in the short time they had, and the clock ticked to zero, ending the contest.
The Devils will head north to face the Boston Bruins on Tuesday (7:00 PM EDT); the Islanders will return home to face the Capitals, also on Tuesday (7:30 PM EDT).
