New York Islanders defeat the St Louis Blues 5-2 – NHL Update
John Tavares lit the lamp in the first period, as the New York Islanders continued their recent streak with a 5-2 win against the St. Louis Blues, at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday night.
Andrew MacDonald found the net twice and P.A. Parenteau had a goal for Islanders, who have won two consecutive after losing four straight games. Michael Grabner also netted a goal and had an assist, while Al Montoya stopped 21 shots to earn the victory.
"Every time that we step on the ice, especially lately, we wanna make a statement," said Montoya. "We want to show the other teams that we're buying into our system and we can play with anyone."
Chris Stewart and Andy McDonald each recorded a goal for Blues, who have dropped four consecutive contests and seven of their previous eight. Ben Bishop made just 17 saves in the losing effort.
"It's a lack of discipline and not sticking to what is going to give us success," said Islanders head coach David Payne. "We need to give ourselves the opportunity to be on the right side, defend and attack with numbers."
New York got a prime chance to take the early lead. Just five minutes into the game, Bishop ventured out of the net in an effort to grab a loose puck, but was easily beaten to the puck by Parenteau, who inexplicably failed to put the puck into wide open
net from the right wing.
However, Islanders got on the board first for 1-0 lead just before the midway mark of the opening period. The play was set up by Parenteau, who sent the puck in the high slot for Tavares, who then simply stick-handled his way through three Blues’ defenders
and backhanded the puck past Bishop.
Islanders doubled the advantage, 2-0, in the last minute of the first period. During a turnover in the neutral zone, Tavares grabbed the puck at the centre red line and passed it to Grabner into the Blues zone along the left wing. Grabner then slipped a
pass from the left circle toward the front of the net for Parenteau, who clearly jammed the puck into the net for his 15th goal of the season.
Islanders enhanced their lead to 3-0 with nearly seven minutes left in the middle session, as MacDonald blasted a point shot into the back of the net.
St.Louis finally woke up in the final period and finally made it a 3-1 game nearly 4 mintues into the third period. The goal came when McDonald received a pass from T.J. Oshie and ripped a shot home from the left circle.
New York quickly countered to get the goal back just three minutes later, as MacDonald rushed in on a breakaway and beat Bishop with a high shot from the left circle for a 4-1 edge.
The Blues cashed in a power play to cut the deficit in half, 4-2, with 9:42 remaining in the game, as Stewart rifled in a rebound for his 20th goal of the season, but New York again had a response just over two minutes later.
After Montoya blocked McDonald’s shot from in close, Islanders went the other way. Grabner skated around Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo in the left circle and sealed the win at 5-2 with his 26th goal of the season.
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