On Isle cylinders
Islanders put MSG blowout behind them with big win of their own
Barry Trotz wanted his Islanders to come in angry and respond after one of their more dismal losses of the season. And respond they did. After slinking out of Madison Square Garden the previous night following a 6-2 loss to the Rangers, the Islanders ran the Red Wings out of the Coliseum on Tuesday with an 8-2 victory.
“Flip the page and come out and play again,” Brock Nelson said of the coach’s message to the team. “That was the beauty of today, we’ve got to flip it quick.”
From the opening puck drop, the Isles’ level of intensity quickly translated to the score sheet. Their four goals in the opening 20 minutes was their first four-goal period since Dec. 18, 2018. And they just kept pouring it on.
After allowing six goals Monday, tying their season-high, the Islanders turned around and racked up eight goals in record time. It took 22 minutes, 40 seconds Tuesday for the Islanders to register six scores, the team’s fastest six goals since Nov. 17, 1993.
Seven different Islanders posted two-point nights, with Nelson finding the back of the net twice. Mathew Barzal and Ryan Pulock both assisted on a pair of goals each, while Jordan Eberle, Anders Lee, Anthony Beauvillier and Leo Komarov contributed a goal and an assist each.
Goaltender Thomas Greiss stopped 34 of the 36 shots he faced as the Islanders netted eight goals for the first time this season. Komarov’s goal was his first of the season, and even rookie defenseman Noah Dobson scored his first NHL goal.
It was exactly the kind of performance Trotz was looking for after a head-hanging loss. But the Isles’ second-year coach did say he thought the matchup was a lot tougher than the score indicated.
“I didn’t have a lot of doubt [that the team would respond to Monday’s loss],” Trotz said. “But after we came out in the first couple of minutes, I thought we were going to be in pretty good shape. I give a lot of credit to Detroit.”
Greiss was tested early, stopping back-to-back shots from Luke Glendening within the first minute of play. He didn’t have to work without a cushion for long, as Eberle net his third goal in four games at 3:23.
Thirty-six seconds later, a hard shot from Michael Dal Colle left an easy rebound for Josh Bailey to clean up for a 2-0 lead. It was Bailey’s first goal in 16 games.
“They’ve been getting looks,” Nelson said of his teammates who broke scoring droughts Tuesday. “You go through spells like that. With 82 games it’ll happen. I thought all four lines were pretty good today.”
The Islanders kept their foot on the accelerator, leaving the Red Wings gassed and often unable to stay on their skates. Anthony Beauvillier wreaked some havoc behind Detroit netminder Jimmy Howard before feeding Nelson for the three-goal lead at 7:56.
Howard was promptly replaced by Calvin Pickard after allowing three goals on seven shots within the game’s first eight minutes. The Red Wings managed to get on the board at 11:45, as Filip Hronek beat Greiss short side to make it 3-1.
The Islanders kept the ice tilted in their favor, ensuring Monday night’s loss was officially in the rearview mirror. Barzal set up Lee at 18:30 to cap off the most dominant period the Isles have had in over two decades.
Trotz expected the Islanders to come out with purpose Tuesday, and they did just that. Now, he wants his team to give the Rangers a real Battle of New York when they meet at the Coliseum on Thursday night.
“I think we got to show what we are,” he said.