The Final Score: The NY Islanders fall to Montreal 4-3 after giving up a late goal.
The NY Islanders suffered a devastating 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens in a thrilling game that lasted the entire duration. The first period of play saw all three of the goals that the Isles conceded early in the game. In addition to Cole Caufield at even strength, power play goals were scored by Nick Suzuki and Sean Monahan. With 3:32 remaining in the third, the Islanders tied the game at three goals thanks to three power-play goals, but New York took their time answering those three goals. While Mat Barzal and Kyle Palmieri scored late in the last period, Bo Horvat scored in the second. The rally was short-lived, though, as 80 seconds later Monahan easily defeated Semyon Varlamov with his second of the evening.
As mentioned above, the Isles power play went 3/8 that night against the Habs, demonstrating its effectiveness. With the man advantage, Horvat, Barzal, and Palmieri each had one goal and one assist, while All-Star snub Noah Dobson picked up three more assists. The squad’s tenacity was also admirable; they managed to rally after trailing 3-0 away from home in a challenging arena (particularly given the Islanders’ record) and after Adam Pelech was taken out of the game by an elbow from Brendan Gallagher. Throughout the game, they relentlessly harassed Sam Montembeault on the other end, attempting at least 12 shots per period and totaling 46 shots.
The blue and orange lost a significant early lead because they performed clumsily and flatly in the first period. After clearing the puck over the glass, Hudson Fasching brutally committed a penalty that immediately resulted in Suzuki’s power-play goal. Later, when Palmieri stopped the Isles’ power-play, Monahan scored when the Montreal penalty expired. Fans will be quick to point fingers at Engvall for two poor decisions he made in the D-Zone that directly resulted in goals for the Canadiens. Despite signing a seven-year extension, Engvall is likely to face a lot of criticism this season. Varlamov performed admirably considering that he had just been activated from Injured Reserve, even though he was clearly not at his best.
