The Islanders finished their regular season by throwing it back to the preseason.
Game 82 against the Penguins meant nothing and both sides treated it as such, doing their best not to get hurt in a 5-4 Islanders victory that featured the drama of Ilya Sorokin stopping a Sidney Crosby penalty shot with under 30 seconds left.
As for the main goal of the night, however, the Islanders fell short as Jean-Gabriel Pageau left the game midway through the first period and did not return.
Alex Nedeljkovic makes a save in the first period in front of a sliding Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who exited the game later in the stanza. Noah K. Murray / NY PostWhether that was merely out of caution or Pageau suffered a more serious injury isn’t known, but the potential of losing their third-line center for the first round when Noah Dobson’s status is already a question mark makes this night a loss for the Islanders, no matter the score.
“I’m sure [Thursday] or the day after we’ll have news for you guys,” coach Patrick Roy said when asked about Pageau’s status.
The teams did at least combine to make it an entertaining exhibition, as the game entered the third period tied at three following Kyle Palmieri’s right-circle one-timer on the power play late in the second.
From there, Samuel Bolduc and Jeff Carter traded goals to tie the game at four before Simon Holmstrom netted the eventual game-winner, lifting one from below the left faceoff dot for a 5-4 lead at the 14:25 mark.
Sorokin orchestrated the final twist of the night after Crosby was awarded a penalty shot with 29 seconds left, diving to stop the superstar with his glove.
Simon Holmstrom, who later scored the game-winning goal, shoots the puck on Alex Nedeljkovic during the Islanders’ win over the Penguins. Noah K. Murray / NY Post“With Crosby, it’s always like in a dream,” Sorokin said. “I know it’s hard for the player because [there’s a] lot of snow in the crease. I just wait to see what Sid’s doing.”
Anders Lee, Mat Barzal, Hudson Fasching and Pierre Engvall were held out of the lineup for the Islanders — Lee for personal reasons and the other three for maintenance — as the home side went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the first time all year.
Bolduc and Oliver Wahlstrom both rejoined the lineup for the first time since Jan. 27 and Feb. 24, respectively, and Ruslan Iskhakov was called up from AHL Bridgeport to make his NHL debut.
Ilya Sorokin, who had 40 saves, stops Michael Bunting’s shot during the second period of the Islanders’ win. Noah K. Murray / NY PostThe 5-foot-8 Russian had earned the chance to show what he could do in the NHL with an All-Star campaign in the minors in which he put up a second-straight season of 50 points.
The skinny 23-year-old whose contract expires following this season got knocked off the puck one too many times, but tallied a point with a secondary assist on Bolduc’s goal along with 14:11 time on ice.
“Not gonna lie, I wasn’t expecting the call-up this morning,” Iskhakov said. “You can’t really be prepared for that. I’m just glad I got an opportunity to play my first NHL game.”
Now the Islanders are where they spent the night wanting to be. On to Carolina.
