The Islanders picked up their second win off a 40 save performance from Thomas Greiss and goals from Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and Cal Clutterbuck in a 3-1 victory over San Jose. The Islanders, now 2-2-1, came back from an early 1-0 deficit in the first period of Saturday night’s game.
Kevin Labanc scored 4:16 into the game on the power play, but Lee evened the game at one with a goal of his own at 17:02. Nelson put the Islanders in front 2-1 in the middle of the second period off a nice feed from Josh Ho-Sang. Cal Clutterbuck scored an empty net goal in the final minute of the game to seal the win.
The Islanders will wrap up their three-game west coast swing with a matchup agains the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday.
Isles Insights
1. Thomas Greiss was unbelievable on Saturday night. The Islanders netminder made 24 saves through the first two periods of the Islanders win and then made another 16 in the third period to preserve the win. Goaltending has been strong for the Islanders through the first five games and Greiss made the big saves that he needed to when the ice was tilted in he sharks favor.
2. “He looked pretty in there today. Just real comfortable and athletic, and he made some big saves. I think maybe halfway through the second period they started getting some opportunities and certainly in the third, so he was huge for us.” — Doug Weight to MSG Plus broadcast on Greiss’ performance.
3. Brock Nelson scored his team leading third goal of the season Saturday night. Nelson has certainly hit a stride during the California trip with three goals through the past two games for the Islanders. The short term question will be can he extend that to Sunday night when the Islanders battle the Kings. The long-term question is can Nelson break his habit of being a streaky player and keep up this up consistently.
[protected-iframe id=”a4661e57bcf1305c7e5fd7d469900eec-114320562-99334228″ info=”https://www.nhl.com/video/embed/nelsons-tricky-wrister-from-slot/t-290863598/c-53516103?autostart=false” width=”540″ height=”310″]4. The Islanders power play failed to convert again on Saturday night. They went 0-for-3 on the man-advantage and still have yet to score a power play goal this season. The Islanders are only one of two teams in the NHL who has a power play percentage of zero. The other club is the Anaheim Ducks, who beat the Islanders on Thursday.
5. Weight’s decision to scratch Anthony Beauvillier was a surprising one and it certainly raised a lot of eyebrows when it was revealed. It was the second time this season that Weight has opted to sit a young player for Jason Chimera. On opening night the Islanders head coach went with Chimera over Josh Ho-Sang, who is tied for the team lead in points with four.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
