Islanders Deal Devils First Home Loss of the Season

The New York Islanders handed the New Jersey Devils their first home loss of the season in a tightly contested Metropolitan Division matchup.

The Devils came out flying, dominating possession right from the opening face-off and pinning the Islanders deep in their own zone. A too-many-men penalty on the Islanders gave New Jersey an early power play, and Timo Meier capitalized, snapping a shot from the slot past Ilya Sorokin’s glove to make it 1–0.

The Devils continued to dictate play through most of the first period, outskating and outpossessing the Islanders. New York didn’t record its first shot on goal until the ten-minute mark. Despite eventually settling into a rhythm, sloppy play continued to hurt the Islanders. A late-period turnover led to a penalty on Kyle Palmieri, who was forced to haul down a Devils skater on a breakaway attempt in the final 30 seconds. New Jersey carried a 1–0 lead and remaining power play time into the intermission.

The Islanders killed off that carryover advantage to start the second period, thanks to strong goaltending from Sorokin. New York began to simplify its game, leaning on a dump-and-chase approach that slowed down New Jersey’s transition and generated more offensive chances. Midway through the period, a Devils giveaway set up the equalizer — Kyle Palmieri fed Bo Horvat on a partial breakaway, and Horvat roofed it over Jacob Markstrom’s blocker for his 12th of the season, tying the game 1–1.

The Devils responded with sustained pressure, but Sorokin stood tall, making a series of acrobatic saves to keep the game tied. Both teams traded chances down the stretch, but neither could break through as the period ended deadlocked at one.

The third period featured tighter checking and several penalties for the Islanders. Cal Ritchie’s interference call gave the Devils another chance on the man advantage, but the Islanders nearly turned the tables when Jean-Gabriel Pageau was sprung for a short-handed breakaway, only to be denied by Markstrom. Moments later, Mathew Barzal was called for high-sticking while defending Meier, but Sorokin once again stole the show, stopping every Devils opportunity.

Late in regulation, the Islanders finally earned a power play of their own when Paul Cotter was whistled for interference. They made it count — Kyle Palmieri buried a rebound off a long-range shot from rookie Matthew Schaeffer to give New York a 2–1 lead with three minutes left.

The Devils pulled Markstrom for an extra attacker in the closing two minutes and called a timeout with 21 seconds remaining. The move paid off, as New Jersey scored in the final five seconds to force overtime after a brief review confirmed the goal.

Overtime began with a scare for the Islanders when a dangerous turnover by Ryan Pulock nearly led to a Devils chance, but Barzal broke it up, then turned the play the other way. Moments later, he finished off a slick give-and-go with Jonathan Drouin to seal the win for the Islanders.

The victory marked the Islanders’ second straight win and dealt the Devils their first home defeat of the year. New York is now two games into a seven-game road trip, which continues with stops in Las Vegas, Utah, Colorado, Dallas, and Detroit.