EDMONTON, AB — This isn't Ottawa anymore.
The Islanders won 5 of 6 points, played generally well despite a serious injury, and had a pleasant surprise of three straight games heading into this road trip, but that challenge will be on Tuesday night. The challenges were not unlike those he faced in Edmonton.
It was Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Evan Bouchard and Matthias Ekholm. The Oilers may have had a slow start to the season, but they have a star roster and won the Western Conference last season.
The Islanders weren't going to get through them any more easily than they would get through the Penguins or the Senators.
In fact, the Islanders had no intention of beating them at all, losing 4-3 in overtime in Draisaitl's final game.
In fact, the points the Islanders earned thanks to a late-night rally made them happy after a night spent primarily in their own zone.
Ilya Sorokin defended his team desperately in front of the goalkeeper, making 38 saves, but it was clear from the start that leaving Rogers Place with two points would be highway robbery.
Thanks to the goaltender, the Islanders entered the final period with a chance to tie the game after Kyle Palmieri tied it on a feed from Max Tsyplakov 15:58 into the second period.
After Ryan Pulock blocked a McDavid chance at the backdoor, the Islanders couldn't even clear the puck and Evan Bouchard beat Sorokin with a left circle shot through traffic to make it 2-1.
McDavid, who then assisted on Edmonton's first two goals and moved closer to 1,000 points, contributed a nice backhand finish after Oliver Wahlstrom tipped the puck over while trying to break through the zone — No. 97 He earned 998 points from
This looked like a backbreaker for the Islanders, but to their credit, they hung around.
Anders Lee scored on a rebound from Ryan Purok at 12:54 of the third to make it 3-2, and scored again after Patrick Roy pulled the goalie early on, scoring on a Jean-Gabriel Pageau feed. , sending the game into overtime. .
The points the Islanders got for it were, really, more points than they deserved.
In overtime, Sorokin couldn't make his 40th save after his first 39, and McDavid gave Draisaitl the winning goal.
After spending almost the entire first period threatening, the Oilers finally broke through when Scott Mayfield called an interference penalty with two seconds left before intermission.
On the other side of halftime, it took just 36 seconds for McDavid to convert Draisaitl's one-timer for a 1-0 lead.
That still held out hope that the Islanders would get something out of this game, but it was short-lived.
All the injuries aside, this building has been an unfortunate place for the Islanders, who have only won one championship here since it opened in 2016.
The Oilers, with their speed and skill, looked like a team that would cause major problems for opponents for an Islanders team that can't compete in those categories given injuries, and that's how it played out.
It wasn't how they wanted to start this five-game series.
But on paper, this game looked like the toughest match of the 12-day trip.
In other words, there is no reason to set off the fire alarm.
However, it is a reminder. The longer it takes the islanders to get healthy, the longer they will continue to live in a world where games like this are an uphill battle.
