Simon Holmstrom collected another short-handed goal to cap a three-goal second period flurry Tuesday night by the host New York Islanders, who beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 in Elmont, N.Y.
Anders Lee and Bo Horvat scored the game-tying and go-ahead power play goals before Holmstrom notched his fifth short-handed goal of the season. Holmstrom is just two short-handed goals shy of tying the franchise’s single-season record.
Goalie Ilya Sorokin allowed Leon Draisaitl to score on the first shot of the game before stopping the final 30 shots he faced as the Islanders snapped a two-game losing streak (0-1-1) and improved to 10-2-3 in their last 15 games.
Stuart Skinner recorded 17 saves for the Oilers, who have lost three straight (0-3-0) following an eight-game winning streak.
The Oilers took the quick lead following an end-to-end rush capped when Draisaitl took a pass in the neutral zone from Warren Foegele and sent a shot that went under the stick of Islanders defenseman Robert Bortuzzo before sailing under Sorokin’s glove at the 1:23 mark.
The Islanders outshot the Oilers 9-7 in the first before their special teams took control in the second. Center Sam Gagner was whistled for slashing 2:05 into the period to set up Lee’s goal just 34 seconds later, when Skinner could not cover up a shot by Kyle Palmieri and Lee swooped in and poked it into the back of the net.
Draisaitl was called for hooking just beyond the midway point of the period to generate the power play that yielded Horvat’s game-winning goal with 8:30 remaining. Brock Nelson passed into the slot to Horvat, who beat Skinner over his stick shoulder.
Nelson drew a tripping penalty with 6:19 left, but Holmstrom didn’t wait long to continue his uncanny success in short-handed situations. A pass by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins sailed beyond Oilers defenseman Ryan Bouchard and into the neutral zone, where Jean-Gabriel Pageau caught up to the puck. Pageau skated a few strides before dishing to Holmstrom, who fired a shot past a sprawling Skinner with 5:50 remaining.
The Oilers pulled Skinner with more than five minutes left in the third but didn’t mount a serious threat before Zach Hyman was whistled for tripping with 3:08 remaining, which forced Skinner into the net for the rest of the game.
–Field Level Media
