A Roll Of The Dice, Stanley Scrap Brought Isles Into Game
With the Islanders offense looking for a spark, DeBoer made a small tweak to the lines that paid immediate dividends.
DeBoer placed Palat from the fourth line in Simon Holmstrom’s place on the third line and alongside JG Pageau and Anthony Duclair. In their first shift together, a strong offensive zone sequence led to DeAngelo’s goal.
While that was one of the catalysts for the Isles, another was the actions of Logan Stanley who helped drag the Islanders into the fight – quite literally.
Stanley jawed with multiple players on the Lightning bench just moments after the horn sounded to close the first period and after Tampa’s third goal, Stanley fought Scott Sabourin. It got the Isles emotionally and physically engaged seeing one of their own go to battle with the tough Sabourin.
“I didn’t love a couple of our lines early and I had given some of those lines some runway hoping that it works but it was time for a change,” DeBoer said. “I would also add that I think the Stanley scrap got us involved in the game too. I think it was the line changes were a piece, but I think Stan kind of dragged us into the fight there.”
“It starts with Stans [Stanley] obviously dropping the mitts just riding for our team, answering the bell, getting us going,” Schaefer added. “I think that is where it started. Tony [DeAngelo] gets one, and then obviously (a) good screen in front on mine, and it just found its way in. It’s fun when we’re when we’re you know going and we’re moving like that. We had a couple shifts there where we were hemming them in their zone, and we just kept going to work and it’s fun.”
The Lightning have historically been known as a physical team and one that likes to engage in extracurriculars after whistles.
Stanley’s fight ignited the physical dynamic of the Isles game and that was evident on the Islanders forecheck as Schenn, Bo Horvat and Victor Eklund all had four hits. The Isles out hit the lightning 30-18, and it showed how an engaged, physical effort could lead to consistent 5-on-5 play.
“I think it made it a pretty tight checking game,” Kyle Palmieri said. “That’s how we want to forecheck playing our defensive zone and making sure we’re physical and separating guys from pucks. here’s definitely some good things to build on and try and carry that to Tuesday.”
Next Game
The Islanders conclude their three-game homestand with a matchup against the Vancouver Canucks at UBS Arena on Tuesday. Faceoff is set for 7:45 p.m.