Wahlstrom, Nelson lead Islanders past Blues
NEW YORK — Oliver Wahlstrom and Brock Nelson each scored, Ilya Sorokin made 27 saves and the New York Islanders beat the St. Louis Blues 2-1 on Saturday.
Sorokin had 14 stops in the third period as the Islanders snapped a two-game skid.
Robert Thomas scored for St. Louis and Jordan Binnington recorded 18 saves, but the Blues fell for the second straight game despite a late push.
Thomas cut the Blues' deficit to one at 17:08 of the third period. Blues coach Craig Berube then pulled Binnington in favor of an extra attacker with over three minutes remaining in the game. Ryan O'Reilly and Brayden Schenn had opportunities to score the equalizer as the Blues controlled possession in the final minutes, but Sorokin preserved the Islanders' advantage.
"Tough start to the game for us," Thomas said. "We finally got going in the third, but we needed to do that for the first and second period."
The Islanders took a two-goal lead on the power play early in the second period. Noah Dobson cleverly set up Nelson for a one-timer from the top of the right faceoff circle at 1:04. It was New York's first goal on the man advantage since Feb. 20 against the Montreal Canadiens and Nelson's 20th goal of the season.
"There wasn't any room, it got nasty at times," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. "You had to make plays knowing you were going to get run over. We had blocked shots, good power play, good penalty kill, big saves, couple of fights, all of that. I thought it was exactly the type of game that we can play. It was one of those games you had to show up. If you didn't show up, you'd get pushed out of the game."
Wahlstrom opened the scoring at 6:36 of the first period when Binnington was unable to close off the short side and the puck squirted through from a tough angle. The sequence began with a Wahlstrom breakaway that was denied, and after extended time in the offensive zone Wahlstrom was able to break through with his 11th goal of the season and first in 12 games.
"We came out flat," Berube said of the Blues' start. "That's the bottom line,"
Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock were paired together on the blue line to start the game for first time since October and they each recorded an assist on the Wahlstrom goal.
"It's been a while," Pulock said of starting with Pelech on defense. "It's good to be reconnected with him. We got a lot of confidence together and know each other's games well. … It's important for our team for us to be good back there and get pucks to our forwards and let them go to work."
Kyle Palmieri appeared to give the Islanders a two-goal edge late in the first period, but the call was overturned upon a St. Louis challenge for goaltender interference. Islanders forward Kieffer Bellows' stick got tangled up with Binnington's stick, preventing the Blues goaltender from making the save.
Palmieri had another goal taken off the board midway through the third period when he tipped a shot past Binnington on the power play. However, after a lengthy review the referees determined that Palmieri redirected the puck while his stick was above the crossbar at 8:26.
"(Palmieri) doesn't have anything to show for it, but I thought he played a strong game," Nelson said. "He had the puck on his stick a lot, made a lot of great plays. You can tell he is feeling his game and has a lot of confidence. It's huge for our team offensively when he is playing like that."
PRE-GAME CEREMONY
Prior to the game, the Islanders honored Zdeno Chara for becoming the NHL leader in all-time games played by a defenseman. The 44-year-old blueliner surpassed Chris Chelios during the Islanders' recent five-game West Coast road trip. Chara was joined by his wife and three children on the ice for a ceremony that included a video tribute and several gifts from the Islanders organization.
ROSTER SHUFFLING
New York recalled Otto Koivula and Parker Wotherspoon from its AHL affiliate in Bridgeport. ... Chara was placed on IR and Islanders captain Anders Lee missed the game for personal reasons. ... Mathew Barzal was sidelined for his fourth straight game with a lower-body injury. ... Wotherspoon did not dress Saturday.
UP NEXT
Islanders: Host Colorado Avalanche on Monday.
Blues: Visit New Jersey Devils Sunday afternoon to conclude a four-game road trip.
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