DENVER — A night about two goaltenders the Islanders had pinned their hopes on ended with wins for both.
Victory for Patrick Roy back in Colorado.
Ilya Sorokin wins on his return to the crease.
And it's a much-needed win for the Islanders. The Islanders avoided losing their first three games and will head to St. Louis at NHL.500 (1-1-1) after a 6-2 win over the Avalanche on Monday night. At the ball arena.
Not too bad for a night job.
Sorokin took the first shot of the night, a shot that easily deflected Nathan MacKinnon's wrist aside, despite concerns that his health and the way last season ended may have affected him mentally. ) After that, there seemed to be no problems at all.
Playing behind a defense that had been a quiet bright spot through the first two games, Sorokin remained unfazed and was his usual relentless self, stopping 32 shots and John Ludvig's second-period chance. Then he spread his legs and made a highlight-reel save. Stops the puck with the left pad.
More than anything that happened in the first nine periods of this season, it was the most important to the Islanders' chances of competing — by some margin.
But this wasn't a night where the Islanders needed much goalie relief.
The Islanders were the better team than the home team, except for the first five minutes or so when Colorado built a 6-1 shooting advantage.
After suffering bouts in the first two games, all four lines seemed at ease with each other. The Islanders played 200 feet of hockey, moving the puck with ease on one end and keeping Colorado off the middle of the ice on the other, keeping things going for Sorokin, at least until the Islanders hit a late onslaught. Made it easy. 3 point lead.
Brock Nelson, unusually still without a point entering the night, got on the score sheet twice within three minutes of the second period. In the first, he robbed Cale Makar for a 1-0 shorthanded goal chance, then skated through. Mikko Rantanen and Oliver Killington before smoothly fending off Alexander Georgiev.
That made it 4-1 before the third period began, and unlike the opener against Utah, there was no meltdown coming, but Casey – Mittelstadt's goal posed a threat.
But any fears were put to rest when Anthony Duclair took an Alexander Romanov feed into the crease and finished around Georgiev to make it 5-2. Matt Barzal added another goal from the air in the final minutes of the game.
The film's only truly dangerous moment occurs in the first few minutes. At 1:01 a.m., Callum Ritchie scored the first goal behind Oliver Wahlstrom, threatening to send the Islanders into an irreversible spiral.
But this is still a veteran team that will be facing a goaltender in Georgiev who came into the night with many questions of his own.
Just 5 minutes and 33 seconds into the game, Anders Lee smashed his own rebound into the right post for the tying goal. With less than 90 seconds left in the first period, Georgiev's stick check on the rush returned the puck to Palmieri's stick, allowing Kyle Palmieri to give New York the lead.
This is just one win. Even if this season doesn't go well, it will be one of many victories.
But the first one is always peace of mind.
This is perhaps more so than usual.
