In Elmont, the New York Islanders needed a power play goal fro Brock Nelson before the midway point of the third period to get a tie with the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night, but the Isles let another one get away, as they lost on penalties to the Sens, 3-2.
Kevin Mandolese made 46 saves in his his NHL debut for the Ottawa win.
“He’s a confident kid,” Senators coach D.J. Smith said of Mandolese. “He’s been up-and-down a bunch of times. He was [in the ECHL] at some point this year but he’s got enough confidence to get in there, and that’s the biggest thing. He wasn’t afraid of the moment.”
The Senators’ top two goalies are down with injuries; Anton Forsberg is out for the season, and Cam Talbot is out with an lower-body injury.
“No matter how many shots [against there were], I just want to be there for the team and give [them] a chance to win,” Mandolese said.
The Sens improved to 28-24-3.
The Islanders took a 1-0 lead in the second period on a marker form Ryan Pulock .
“It’s disheartening when you put in an effort and can’t break through and put up enough numbers on the scoreboard,” New York coach Lane Lambert said. “At the same time, I thought there were some good things done tonight. We just have to move forward and get ready for the next game (against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday).”
The Islanders dropped to 27-23-7, the Isles were 1-for-6 on the power play, including a chance in the extra session.
“You [have] to try to be creative,” Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson said, “You can’t be stagnant. It’s easy for the [penalty] killers and the goalie. We [tried] to move around, [but] it obviously didn’t work tonight.”
Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson scored in the skills competition.
Ottawa got even in the middle frame on a strike from Tim Stutzle.
”I think we dominated the first period, and then they were a little bit faster than us,” Stutzle said. ”As soon as we started playing fast again, I think we dominated the game.”
Brady Tkachuk put the Senators ahead, 2-1, in the third stanza on a power play goal.
“We know there is room to make up [in the playoff race],” said Tkachuk. “But we’re not looking at the playoff picture and situation. We’re just going in there, playing fast, kind of [doing] our jobs every day and just putting ourselves in the best position to move forward.”
Ilya Sorokin made 32 saves in the New York loss.
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