DALLAS — The Islanders needed some production late in the game to break out of their recent slump.
So, crucially, that’s exactly what they did.
Bo Horvat’s overtime game-winner gave the Islanders a much-needed road win and a much-needed confidence boost with a 3-2 win over the Stars.
It appeared as if the Islanders were following a similar unfortunate script as they took leads 1-0 and 2-1 in the second period.
However, they finally regained the lead in extra time and had no chance of losing it.
The power play struggled all night, with Sam Steele holding off Sebastian Aho at the 13:27 mark, giving the Isles a 5-on-4 chance, but they fell short again in the final frame.
But they couldn’t do anything with the man advantage and actually gave up some grade-A looks to the short-handed Stars.
Moments later, the top line looked Grade A as Horvat fed Mathew Barzal up front, but Scott Wedgewood made a diving stop to prevent the Isles from retaking the lead.
Still, the Isles managed to survive a third period that was far from their best.
Then, in overtime, Horvat found what was missing with a one-time shot from the right side.
After Ryan Purock scored at 15:59 of the first, Dallas converted back-to-back penalties at the start of the second, giving the Islanders a golden opportunity to extend their lead.
But the Isles didn’t just fail in the four minutes of power play time. The game included 30 seconds of 5-on-3 play before a penalty and Matt Duchene converted a rebound from Thomas Hurley to allow a power-play goal of his own.
Kyle McClain followed up Pierre Engvall’s shot to make it 2-1, but the Isles were unable to hold onto the lead again, and at 18:17 Logan Stankoven made his 30th save of the night on Ilya Sorokin. The match was decided by a short-side defeat. On to the third tie.
This was a movie we had seen before.
But the Isles prepared a different ending, one they desperately needed for their playoff chances.
One win won’t change much of the situation the Islanders face. A big and sustained turnaround is needed to get past the playoff cut line.
Not only are they still five points behind the Flyers, who are third in the metropolitan area, but they are tied with New Jersey, one point behind the Capitals.
The margin of error is completely gone, but there’s not much the Islanders can do about it now.
The only option is to continue winning streaks.
It had to start somewhere, and it had to start soon.
So why isn’t Monday in Dallas?
