Kieffer Bellows scored the equalizer and victory goals, appearing in his first game since February 18 – and only the second since January 30 – to give the New York Islanders a big advantage in the third period in their first game without captain Anders Lee .
The 3-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils is the Islanders’ eighth consecutive victory, spanning 11 consecutive games. They will fight three in a row over the Devils tomorrow, also in Newark.
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First period: busy and a little confused
The Islanders had a power game at the start, their first without Anders Lee, and absolutely peppered the Devils’ goal with kicks and near-chances. Bellows took on one of Lee’s roles, getting some work in front of the net in the power game.
But both units were left empty, and the Devils opened the scoring soon after. Pavel Zacha beat Semyon Varlamov immediately and high in the slot in the race to make it 1-0 at 6:37.
The Islanders had a lot of chances and overtook the Devils by 13-6 in the first period, but overall it was a bit of a sloppy period by their recent standards. Instead of 1-1, it could easily have been 3-2 for either side.
It was only at the end of the session that Oliver Wahlstrom put the Islands on the board, in a wicked writer in a 3-on-2. The Islands gave up a 2-to-1 at the end of a power play, and Wahlstrom recovered the puck, took the distance to the other side and fired before a backchecker could interrupt it:
Second period: Meh.
The second was an ugly period, and Semyon Varlamov, who had another quietly strong night, faced 18 shots. (He would face 10 in total in the other two periods.)
The Devils regained the advantage after 64 seconds of the second half, with a good preview and pressure, followed by a second shot by Janne Kuokkanen, after Yegor Sharangovich hit the bar.
Adding an insult, Isles lost Josh Bailey for a few turns when his face collided with Kuokkanen’s skateboard after they both dived for the rebound in the air.
The Islanders ‘best chance of a draw was on a run for Casey Cizikas’ lack of hand. He took the puck on the islands’ blue line and went to the races. Just as he was about to shoot, a hurried Jack Hughes dived and knocked him into the net with an unexpected blow. The bar prevented him from firing, and the only official – the second referee did not leave in the second period – let it pass.
NHL reports that referee Justin St. Pierre left the game because of an upper body injury and will not return. Pierre Lambert was the only referee in the second period
– Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) March 14, 2021
The Islanders had consecutive power-play chances later, the first perhaps a make-up call, the second coming after a comical penalty from many of the Devil’s men. But they only created a good chance of it, a good cross-slot configuration by Mathew Barzal for a one-timer Anthony Beauvillier, well anticipated by Mackenzie Not Scott Black Not Wedge wood.
Overall, making very slow decisions was his undoing.
The demons played some power games and were more threatening. They came out of the infractions of the main defenders of the Islands, Adam Pelech with a debatable hook on Miles Wood and Scott Mayfield late for a cross check. Mayfield continues for 24 seconds in the third period, with the Islands still losing 2-1.
Third period: you are the best, Bellows.
The Islanders killed that remnant, and then it was time for Bellows.
His first goal came at 1:59, when he made a threaded needle pass to Barzal, who pulled the two defenders down the right wing, which created an opening for him to put Bellows in the slot. Bellows needed to know how much time he had and how much depended on his shot selection. He did not hurry, chose his place and buried him.
A guttural scream and a double-fisted bomb followed.
Bellows ‘second goal came three minutes later, in a beautiful play of strength that also took advantage of the Devils’ focus on Barzal. Bellows completed a tight exchange of a carom disk in the center of the ice and dropped it by the right wing. He looked at the crack, enough to buy space and make Devils Barzal watch him. Then he passed around the Nathan Bastian winger from Devils to the goal line, slid around the top of the fold and slid the puck through the Black Not Wedge wood.
3-2 Islands. Potential bellows station changer.
The game was slow at that point, the way Barry likes it when there is an advantage.
As the final five minutes approached, a question asked: Bellows had been kept under control by Barry Trotz, hoping that the young man would save his time by adhering to the “details” of the Islanders’ game. Would he have a chance with a goal advantage in the end?
yea. Bellows was out there and contributed to a good turn with four minutes to go, where he, Barzal and Eberle kept the record in the Devils’ zone and without taking any exuberant youth risks.
The Islanders finished the final minutes of lines and survived some complicated challenges as soon as the Devils pulled out the Black Not Wedge wood. Scott Mayfield had some attempts at liberation on his forehand that were kept in the zone, something Josh Bailey was also guilty of.
But the islands survived the final attack. Two more stitches in the bag. And a big third for young Bellows.
Next
The three-game series ends tomorrow at 5pm. The Islands will enter that, and in the second half of this shortened season, still in first place.