Red Wings-Islanders wrap-up: 3rd period rally affords Wings a ‘fun plane ride’ back to Detroit

The Detroit Red Wings looked to be in serious trouble halfway through the 3rd period against the New York Islanders Monday night, trailing 2-1, but the Red Wings ultimately salvaged a 4-2 victory from the Islanders to sweep the teams’ 3-game season series.

Detroit now sits at 9-10-and-2 heading into Wednesday night’s match-up with the Calgary Flames, who lost a 4-3 decision to Ottawa on Monday.

As far as the game’s narrative is concerned, the Islanders were particularly pissed off at having let a 2-1, 3rd period lead slip away, as they told Newsday’s Andrew Gross…

“Especially when I was playing, I said some nights it’s better to be lucky than good,” coach Patrick Roy said. “Hopefully, at some point, we’re going to be lucky and good at the same time.”

A mixture of bad luck and mistakes led to Monday night’s 4-2 loss to the Red Wings at UBS Arena in the middle match of a three-game homestand as the Red Wings scored three times in the third period, including twice within a span of two minutes, 33 seconds.

The Islanders (8-9-5) have blown third-period leads in four of their last five games. But Bo Horvat couldn’t convert an open one-timer at the crease that would have given the Islanders a two-goal lead early in the third period. Defenseman Grant Hutton hit the crossbar less than a minute after the Red Wings tied the game. Simon Holmstrom shot it high and wide from right in front in the final minute with the Islanders skating six-on-five.

“We need to continue to do exactly what we’re doing,” Roy said. “Changing won’t help us. I really believe that those chances will go in. You have to be resilient. We could feel sorry for ourselves or roll up our sleeves and get ready for the next game and that’s the approach we need to have. We need to believe in what we’re doing.”’

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“We didn’t change anything,” said Brock Nelson, who moved past John Tonelli into sole possession of ninth place on the Islanders’ all-time points list with 545 after his tip of defenseman Isaiah George’s point shot (the 20-year-old rookie’s first career point) led to Kyle Palmieri’s rebound goal for a 2-1 lead at 7:42 of the second period. I don’t think we let our foot off the gas. It’s just a matter of a couple of plays where you don’t execute or you need a timely block. Yeah, it’s frustrating.”

Raymond also scored the winner on Thursday as the Red Wings (9-10-2) tallied twice in the final 4:46 to end the Islanders’ disappointing 1-2-2 road trip with a 2-1 defeat.

“They’re not going in for us right now at times and we’ve just got to push through it,” said Anders Lee, whose one-timer opened the scoring at 4:35 of the first period. “And, obviously, we’ve got to find a way to keep the puck out of the net in the third period. We can’t seem to get out of our own way at times. Our mistakes are costing us goals.”

The Islanders continued while speaking with the New York Post’s Ethan Sears (who posted a 1:20 AM story about the Islanders being pissed off about the Ben Chiarot-Anders Lee fight not giving the Islanders a late-3rd-period power play)…

“If it was 6-1, I could come here and complain and bitch and this and that,” said coach Patrick Roy, who repeatedly emphasized his belief that the Islanders are doing the right things “But we lost 3-2. And you’re probably gonna say to me, ‘Another blown lead,’ which, I understand that. But at the same time, we’re playing good hockey.”

Yes indeed, the Islanders are right back to wondering how they can play so many 45-minute games and so few 60-minute games.

…

“We need to continue doing exactly what we’re doing,” Roy said. “Changing won’t help us. So let’s keep doing what we’re doing well. I really believe that those chances will go in. Sometimes in life, you have to be resilient. If I hadn’t been resilient, I wouldn’t be in front of you today.

“… Guys know they lost some coverage in the third period, that made a difference in those two goals. Unfortunately for us, when we’re making mistakes, the goddamn thing finishes in the back of our net. So we gotta find a way to maybe be more solid in some situations.”

That was, in essence, a more emphatic version of the rhetoric coming out of the dressing room.

“We didn’t change anything. I don’t think we let our foot off the gas,” Brock Nelson said. “It’s just a matter of a couple plays where you don’t execute and just need a timely look or different things. I don’t know, it’s frustrating.”

Nelson continued while speaking with NYI Hockey Now’s Russ Macias:

Postgame, Nelson had no answers for the media. “I don’t know, this one hurts. It’s disappointing, and then obviously, they get one and tie it, and you want to respond and get back on it, and then they get another one. I don’t know, you have to find a way. We have to believe. Our jobs here (are) to get the job done, and we know we can do it. It’s a matter of going out there and getting it done and executing.”

The loss left Nelson more frustrated than he’d been all year when he talked to the media postgame. Asked if anything changes from period two to period three, he said “I don’t know… I don’t think we let our foot off the gas, but it’s just a matter of a couple of plays where you don’t execute.”

Varlamov was more candid about what he saw between the pipes: “I feel like in the third period when we give up the second goal, Detroit started pushing, and then we kind of sit back a little bit, and then we give up the third one.”

That really says it all. Varlamov says the quiet part out loud. Detroit tied the game with Dylan Larkin’s individual spin move from in tight, and the Islanders buckled. Detroit, just like on Thursday night just a few days ago, grabbed the Islanders by the throat, took the game over, and won.

Hutton showed similar frustration levels and was pretty candid about the seeming lack of confidence in the Islanders’ dressing room:

“Look, it’s a cliché, but it has to end, and no one in this room is okay with blowing these third-period leads. So something’s got to change. We got to play with a little bit more confidence down the stretch there when we have leads and find a way to get those points.”

Put a little less bluntly, per NewYorkIslanders.com’s Rachel Luscher, the Wings won the special teams battle, but only barely:

Special teams told a story of good and bad news for the Islanders, as they went 0-for-3 on the power play but their shorthanded units went a perfect 3-for-3.

The power play failed to convert through two opportunities in the first period and one early in the third, which felt like a missed opportunity to pad their lead.

“The power play had a chance to make the difference to make it a 3-1 game, and we just didn’t do it,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said. “But we had our chances to make it 3-1.”

Facing a team with the league’s sixth-best power play (28.1%), the Islanders locked it down through three kills, which is an encouraging sign for the Islanders PK which ranks 31st in the NHL (68.2%).

“We were very good, and the guys did a really nice job especially in the two [penalties] at the end of that second period,” said Roy. “It was a key moment to have a 2-1 lead at the end of two. I love the way we forecheck and the support that we have.”

As much as the Islanders were frustrated, but measured in their frustration, the Red Wings were exultant, but only so much so, as NHL.com’s Stefan Rosner noted:

“We were desperate coming in here today,” Detroit goalie Alex Lyon said. “I just got to give a lot of credit to the guys. Obviously, we could have folded the tents there and we fought until the bitter end and scored two big ones there at the end. So, it feels good. It’s going to be nice to have a happy plane ride, but we can’t be satisfied. We have to continue to push and be ready for Wednesday (against the Calgary Flames).”

Edvinsson and Moritz Seider each had a goal and an assist, and Dylan Larkin also scored for the Red Wings (9-10-2), who have won two of their past three games. Lyon made 27 saves.

“The message to the guys after was just to keep working at rounding out our game and getting our game in order,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “Because, this group has shown some battle and some fight. I thought through 40 minutes, we did some pretty good things. We had three legit backdoor open nets that could have made a huge difference.

“Quite fortunately, we get a defensive-zone coverage goal against, which we haven’t done as of late and go down. Obviously, the power play had some issues at the end of the second period, but we had a stretch there, six or seven minutes, [where we played] our best hockey.”

Anders Lee and Kyle Palmieri scored for the Islanders (8-9-5), who have lost six of eight (2-3-3). Varlamov made 17 saves.

“Sometimes in life, you have to be resilient,” New York coach Patrick Roy said. “Because if I hadn’t been resilient, I wouldn’t be in front of you today. We could feel sorry for ourselves or roll our sleeves up and get ready for the next game. And that’s the approach we need to have. We need to believe in what we’re doing and what we’re doing is the right thing.”

The Red Wings agree with Roy’s message, if not his meaning, as they told the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan:

“We’ve had some ups and downs but this team has shown some battle,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “Hopefully we can keep building our game.”

Larkin wheeled in the slot and knocked in his team-leading 12th goal, at 11:20 of the third period, tying the game 2-2.

Raymond then scored his fifth goal, and third in three games, deflecting Simon Edvinsson’s shot at 13:53, giving the Wings a 3-2 lead just 2 minutes, 33 seconds after Larkin’s goal.

“You need a top line if you’re going to be good in this league and if you’re going to have success,” Lalonde said. “Those guys have been doing it of late.”

Michael Rasmussen added an empty-net goal with 2.4 seconds remaining, enabling the Wings to sweep the three-game season series against the Islanders (8-9-5).

“We played these guys two games ago and were in the same situation, down a goal in the third period,” defenseman Albert Johansson said. “We were just staying positive and keep pushing, we know we’re a good team, so we’re just trying to go out there and keep going. For sure down a goal on the road and you bounce back in the third period, that shows what kind of character this group has. Big win and on to the next one.”

Goaltender Alex Lyon preserved the victory with 29 saves, including a big save on Bo Horvat alone in the slot early in the third period and during an Islanders flurry with just over two minutes left in regulation time and the goalie pulled.

“Just treated it as a practice and get better being in those critical moments,” said Lyon of his mindset in the last couple minutes. “As you go throughout the year as a team, you have to be comfortable in those situations. I just treated is as a learning experience and just try to stay in the moment and tonight it worked out, it was a fun game.”

This one was a relief as much as it was fun…And now, on to the next one.

Update: Of note from DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills’ post-game recap:

Lalonde on Johansson’s first career NHL point

“He’s growing, and I hope it builds some confidence in him. He’s had his ups and downs, which is understandable from a young D-man. But from what I saw last year, even through camp, I think he’s got a little more in his game.”

Lalonde on the play of Detroit’s penalty kill on Monday

“It’s been good. I do think we got a little more assertive on it, a little adjustment with some of the structure on it. I like that we’ve slotted some personnel on it, and it’s been good. Unfortunately in the Boston game, we got some bad luck there and had a puck wide go off a shin pad, but we needed it. There’s going to be times when you’re not going to have your power play. My experience in this league, you don’t need your power play all the time to be successful, but if you don’t have your penalty kill, you have no chance.”

Lyon on what was going through his mind late in the game

“Honestly, just tried to treat it as practice and get better being in those critical moments. I think as a team, going throughout the year, you have to be comfortable in those situations. I just try to treat it as a learning experience and stay in the moment as best I can. Tonight it worked out. It was a fun game.”

Lyon on if Detroit needs to play with a desperate style more often

“I think that we’re in desperation mode, for sure. I think that we need to play desperate every night, and the best teams in this league play desperate every night. Even if you’re not desperate, you have to find a way to play desperate. It’s good. It’s fun to play that way. It’s a grind, but it’s just kind of where we’re at. We just need to continue to push really hard and not let our foot off the gas.”

Johansson on the message ahead of the third period

“We played these guys two games ago, and we were in the same situation: down one goal going into the third. We were just staying positive and kept pushing because we know we’re a good team. We’re just trying to go out there and keep going.”