The Islanders did their damage early and then leaned on structure to finish off a 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks at UBS Arena on Tuesday. New York struck three times in a 5:05 burst late in the opening period, stretching its points run to four games.
Ondrej Palat, Victor Eklund and Simon Holmstrom scored for the Islanders, now 5-3-1. Ilya Sorokin turned aside 15 shots, while rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer added his eighth assist through nine NHL games.
Quick facts
- Final: Islanders 3, Ducks 2 at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York.
- New York has gone 3-0-1 during its four-game point streak.
- Anaheim fell to 4-5-1 and has lost four in a row.
- Lukas Dostal made 22 saves for the Ducks.
- Schaefer, 19, owns a home point streak of at least five games to open the season.
Palat opened the scoring at 13:39 of the first, finishing a rush created moments after Sorokin got a glove on Cutter Gauthier’s shot from the high slot. Anthony Duclair moved the puck to Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who found Palat alone in the slot for a high glove-side finish.
Eklund doubled the lead at 16:28. His initial redirection created a loose puck with Dostal out of position, and Eklund swept the rebound home on his backhand.
“It feels good to score,” Eklund said. “I was trying to provide a screen, but the puck landed right in front of me and I put it in. I always want to get to the front of the net and into the battle. Maybe I need to do that more often.”
Anaheim answered 50 seconds later when A.J. Greer spotted Frank Vatrano unguarded at the top of the crease. Vatrano shifted to his backhand and lifted the puck over Sorokin’s glove at 17:18.
The Islanders restored the two-goal cushion on the power play at 18:44. Holmstrom got his stick on Schaefer’s shot from the blue line and redirected it past Dostal.
New York had chances to put the game away in the second period, including Brayden Schenn ringing a power-play attempt off the right post with one minute left in the frame. The Ducks stayed within range, but could not find an equalizer.
With Dostal pulled for an extra skater, Alex Killorn made it a one-goal game at 17:20 of the third. Leo Carlsson fed him at the left hash marks, where Killorn hammered a one-timer for the final margin.
“You can find positives, but the bottom line is winning the game,” Vatrano said. “The effort was there, but we have to get two points. It is hard when you are chasing from the start. In this league, you need to begin with the lead and know how to handle it. We have to be better at the beginning of games.”
Ducks coach Joel Quenneville pointed to the quick swing around Palat’s goal, after Anaheim had been pressing at the other end. He said those moments can shape a game, particularly early, though he liked that his club kept pushing and nearly drew even late.
Islanders coach Pete DeBoer called the past two outings his club’s strongest full-game efforts of the season, following Saturday’s 4-1 road victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs. His main frustration Tuesday was that New York did not convert enough of its opportunities to create more separation.
“Other than finishing chances, I don’t think we could have done much more,” DeBoer said. “We let them remain in the game because we did not finish. That was the only issue.”
DeBoer also praised Mitchell Chaffee, who fought in his Islanders debut, and the work from New York’s depth group. Chaffee logged 9:13 after signing a one-year deal with the Islanders on July 1. The coach also liked the movement on a power play that produced Holmstrom’s goal.
Palat said the Islanders’ early success has come from committing to DeBoer’s system throughout a shortened training camp. He pointed to four-line work, defensive reloads and a harder overall game as the foundation for New York’s wins.
Schaefer’s assist placed him in select company. He became the fifth teenage NHL defenseman to begin a season with a home point streak of five games or longer, joining Zach Werenski, Paul Reinhart, Drew Doughty and Brad Stuart.
