The New York Islanders roll into Detroit on Saturday afternoon seeking a sixth straight victory.
All of those victories have come in regulation, as the Islanders have outscored their opponents 22-9 during that stretch.
The Islanders were down 1-0 at St. Louis after the first period on Thursday, then erupted for four goals in the second period en route to a 5-2 victory.
Kyle Palmieri tied the game just 14 seconds into the period. Over the next 10 minutes, Brock Nelson, Josh Bailey and captain Anders Lee hit the back of the net.
“It wasn’t our best first period,” Nelson said. “We wanted to come out with a push, and we added a huge goal right away, putting one in in the first minute, and then taking advantage of the power play, which was a big opportunity which is huge. … From there I thought we did a good job closing it out.”
Palmieri’s goal never touched his stick. Defenseman Noah Dobson took a shot that deflected off Palmieri’s skate.
Palmieri, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Zach Parise skate on the third line.
“I think our line, we know our role and we want to just play simple and make sure we put pucks deep and start going after their D,” said Pageau, who added an empty-net goal. “I thought we did good, going into the second with a great mentality and it paid off.”
Ilya Sorokin made 32 saves against the Blues. He’s been in the net for all but one of the games during the streak.
The Red Wings bounced back from a five-goal loss at Buffalo to defeat Washington 3-1 on Thursday.
Capitals star captain Alex Ovechkin tied Detroit legend Gordie Howe for the most all-time goals with one team on the Wings’ home ice. But Detroit’s defense was stout from that point, while Lucas Raymond, Andrew Copp and captain Dylan Larkin scored for the Wings.
Copp was one of the team’s major free agent acquisitions. The longtime Winnipeg Jets forward, who is skating on the second line, scored for the first time in a Detroit uniform.
“After a little slow start in the goal column, it’s nice to get the first one,” Copp said. “Just kind of hope now that opens up the floodgates a little bit.”
Raymond’s goal came on a power play. The Wings killed off four Capitals power plays.
“It just leads to huge momentum when you win the special teams battle,” first-year coach Derek Lalonde said. “Both teams are very depleted (through injuries), there’s not a huge margin for error for both teams and puts you in more emphasis to win the special teams and tonight we did.”
Ville Husso made 33 saves for Detroit, which is 4-1-1 at home this season. Husso, acquired in an offseason trade with the Blues, has an identical record.
“He calms our team down,” Lalonde said. “We might get running (around) in our zone a little bit and he’ll eat a puck or rebound, he gives us a calming feel and obviously he makes a couple of those big saves and that’s why his numbers are where they’re at, and the success our team has when he’s in net.”
The Red Wings are in the midst of a rugged schedule in which they play six games in 10 days. The Islanders are wrapping up a three-game road trip.
–Field Level Media