Takeaways: Islanders Party Like it’s 1993, Clinch Series Win at Coliseum | NYHN+

Back and forth they went until the New York Islanders took a stranglehold on the game in the second period.

With three goals in the middle frame — two coming from Brock Nelson — the Islanders skated to a 5-3 win and moved past the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

They’ll next take on the Boston Bruins in second round, but first, let’s take a look back at was another eventful playoff game at Nassau Coliseum.

Raucous second period

The end of the first was wild enough, as it ended 2-2, but the second period upped the anti as the two teams vied for the lead. Jason Zucker put Pittsburgh on the board first, but the Islanders stormed back for three goals of their own to grab the lead and hold it the rest of the way.

The tic-tac-toe passing play where Josh Bailey’s slap pass set up Nelson’s tying goal might’ve been the Islanders’ best play on the rush the entire series. You could not draw it up any better.

With more life in the building, the Islanders grabbed hold of the momentum and didn’t let go when Ryan Pulock blasted a shot from the point off a faceoff win. Thirteen seconds after Nelson had tied, the Islanders were ahead for the first time.

Nelson followed up his earlier goal with a wrister that squeaked through Tristan Jarry, who had another miserable night in goal for Pittsburgh. For the game, the netminder had a .792 save percentage, just an abysmal effort in an elimination game.

It wasn’t as if the Islanders were dominating the possession in the period either; they only recorded slightly north of 41 percent of the shot attempts in the frame. But with three high danger chances for and three goals, they made the most of it.

Second line keeps on thriving 

Nelson-Anthony Beauvillier-Bailey were far and away the team’s best line throughout the series, at least production wise. And that was even more present in Game 6.

Nelson and Beauvillier each had three points and Bailey had two assists. Beauvillier’s goal in the first period to answer Jeff Carter’s opening strike was crucial to get the Islanders back in the game. That line had over 15 minutes of ice time together, which was the most of any trio on the team.

In the first round, Anthony Beauvillier was tied for the team lead with Jean-Gabriel Pageau with seven points. Coming in tied at second were Bailey and Nelson. It’s reminiscent of the 2020 bubble playoffs when the second line was continually a force. The Islanders will need that heading to Boston.

Sorokin stands tall again

Was it as impressive as his Game 5 double OT win? No. But rookie goalie Ilya Sorokin was sharp when the Islanders needed it most again as he won all four games he started in this series. For this game, the fans even broke out the KHL chant of his that had gone viral on Twitter in recent days.

This time he made 34 saves on 37 chances in the series finale. The first-year netminder was the Islanders’ MVP this series and came through time and time again. After allowing three goals through the first period-plus, Sorokin made 27 of the final 28 saves he could make to close out the series.

There were a few gems, but his save on Evgeni Malkin on a breakaway in the second period is the standout to this writer.

For the series, Sorokin posted a 1.95 goals-against average with a .943 save percentage. Just incredible numbers for the rookie who had so much hype coming into this season. Right now, one could argue he’s exceeding expectations.