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The New York Islanders’ comeback fell short against the Colorado Avalanche yesterday, losing 5-4.
Tonight's final. pic.twitter.com/hQIPFEvq8V
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) March 8, 2022
The play evened out a bit in the second period, but Colorado still controlled a good portion of the play, especially in the first half of the frame, and outshot New York 15-11. However, Semyon Varlamov was key for the Islanders and managed to keep the game tied through 40 minutes.
Things took a turn in the final frame though. First, Nathan MacKinnon scored after a scramble just as a power play expired, putting Colorado ahead. Then only two minutes later, J.T. Compher took a pass from Alex Newhook and wristed a nice shot past Varlamov, to make it a 3-1 game. The Avalanche weren’t done there and just a minute after that, Cale Makar buried a pass from Nathan MacKinnon. Then Devon Toews found himself alone after getting a pass and scored as well, making it a 5-1 game. With four goals in 4:21, the Avalanche all of a sudden had a four-goal lead.
The Islanders did try to battle back, and two quick goals from Anders Lee and Casey Cizikas got New York back in the game a bit. After the Islanders had some good late chances, Brock Nelson capitalized with under 30 seconds to go to put the Islanders within a goal. That’s as close as they would come though, with the comeback falling short at 5-4.
The highlight of the loss will be talked about based on the third period collapse, and rightfully so, but the Islanders were probably lucky to be at a draw after two periods. Semyon Varlamov kept the team in the game, given they were outshot 35-18 through two periods.
While it was a good effort to try to claw back in the second half of the third period and the Islanders got shockingly close, New York was getting outplayed through a lot of the game before then.
The Islanders have now won just two of their last seven games, sitting with a 21-24-8 record. Their next game comes on Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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