The Islanders pulled off multiple stunning escapes to take both points in Las Vegas, capped by J-G Pageaus dramatic shorthanded solo effort to win the game in overtime, 4-3.
Twice when things looked set for a loss, the Isles flipped the script, including Mat Barzal tying it with 2:37 left in regulation after his team had blown an opening 2-0 lead. Even that lead itself was against the grain, as Vegas got the first six shots on net in the game before the Isles somehow emerged from the first period with that two-goal lead.
Through it all, Ilya Sorokin made fantastic saves, occasionally aided by his posts, on the way to another win over the Golden Knights.
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Emil Heineman opened scoring at 14:03 of the first with his sneaky release from distance
That was the first hint it might be an against-the-grain night. Then four minutes later, Matthew Schaefer sizzled a wrister through traffic to cash in on a late power play. (And yes, that caption says hes now tied with Cale Makar for the league lead in goals among defensemen. Hes 18.)
The second period was not a case of the Isles sitting on the lead, but rather the teams alternating five power plays without converting. It seemed the Isles could be headed toward a good position in the third until Shea Theodore finally broke through for Vegas with just over a minute remaining in the period, sending the game to the second intermission at 2-1.
Shots on goal in the third period were only 8-5 Vegas, but the Knights were tilting the ice as they tied it at 8:23 on a Tomas Hertl rebound after some dangerous setups down low. Then they pulled ahead at 10:45 after Reilly Smith finished a sequence he started with a nifty move.
Things looked ominous at that point. Patrick Roy even made a thinly found, desperate challenge for goalie interference: Kyle Palmieri had been pushed into Ilya Sorokins area, but it was hard to find anything more than a paper argument for that being a factor. The video review quickly rejected the challenge, and the Isles were now on the penalty kill already trailing by a goal.
I figured the Isles had fully coughed up a 2-0 lead they didnt totally deserve, and blown their chance to walk out of Vegas with a point or two, and a Golden Knights power play insurance goal would finish them off.
But things were far from over. Barzal tied it on a one-timer, set up by Schaefer and aided heavily by Anders Lees disruptive net-front presence
Then they survived some scares during the final two minutes to make it to overtime, which itself was a glorious, chaotic back-and-forth scramble at both ends. Sorokin made some outstanding stops and also had some post luck.
In one desperate sequence, the Isles changed way too early to stem a Vegas counterattack, and they were called for too many men on the ice. Theyd spend essentially the final two minutes of overtime shorthanded, if they could even survive the 4-on-3.
Enter Pageau, pursued by a bear.
Thomas Hickey on the MSG broadcast talked about how hard it is to win a 3-on-4 faceoff when you have no support. Then he saluted Pageau, who won the draw by himself, somehow completed the defensive zone exit on his own, rushed up ice, used a Im just gonna burn some time decoy before launching a shot that ramped off a defending Mitch Marners stick and over Akira Schmids shoulder for the stunning, improbable, shorthanded winner.
What just happened? That just happened.
The sustained post-game mob celebration captured the moment and the full-team effort. The Isles had come back from the dead a couple of times and secured two crucial points on a daunting road trip. Their third road win in a row following two local wins at the Rangers and Devils means they are in position to make this a successful trip but will go no worse than 3-4 if they crater over the next four.
Speaking of which, its back to back on the road here, with Friday night in Salt Lake City.