Islanders lose to Coyotes after getting off to a fast start

TEMPE, Ariz. — The start was good for the Islanders. Not much else went right, though.

“We just took our foot off the gas,” Kyle Palmieri said. “There’s some pockets of good things. But a lot of bad things.”

The Coyotes overcame a two-goal first-period deficit and swept the two-game season series with a 5-4 win on Friday night in front of a split crowd of 4,600 at 5,000-seat Mullett Arena, their temporary home on the Arizona State campus.

The Islanders (17-13-1), who went 0-for-5 on the power play, are in a 2-5-1 skid and have started their five-game road trip 0-1-1 before facing Pacific Division-leading Vegas on Saturday.

Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves in dropping his fifth straight decision. Clayton Keller scored twice for the Coyotes (10-14-4), who are 4-8-3 since beating the Islanders, 2-0, at UBS Arena on Nov. 10.

“I thought we came out strong,” coach Lane Lambert said. “Giving up that goal late in the [first] period just at the end of the penalty kill shifted momentum a little bit. We have to be better. We have to find a way to get it back.

“I thought we got outworked for a portion of that game, and it’s unacceptable.”

Further, Lambert said he was “extremely disappointed with the fact we didn’t produce [on the power play]. We generated some shots [14] but we needed a goal there.”

As for Sorokin, Lambert said he doesn’t have any concerns with how the goalie is playing overall. “I don’t think that was his best game,” he said. “There’s moments in the season when things will happen like that. But he’ll bounce back.”

Semyon Varlamov is expected to start against Vegas.

Palmieri and fellow right wing Anthony Beauvillier returned to the Islanders’ lineup after missing 10 and two games, respectively.

Travis Boyd, off the left post, gave the Coyotes a 4-3 lead at 2:08 of the third period and Keller made it 5-3 at 14:49. Beauvillier brought the Islanders within one at 18:21 as they skated six-on-five.

Defenseman Noah Dobson’s shot from the right point through Palmieri’s screen in front of Karel Vejmelka (30 saves) allowed the Islanders to escape an awful second period in a 3-3 tie.

“It’s not good,” Matt Martin said. “We had exactly the kind of start we wanted and blew it at the end of the day. Just not good enough by everyone, for whatever reason. We allowed them to get back in the game and never really took the momentum back. Too little, too late. We’ve got to be better.”

The Islanders had taken a 2-0 lead on goals from defenseman Sebastian Aho at 1:41 and Mathew Barzal at 13:33 of the first period, but Beauvillier’s high-sticking penalty at 17:13 shifted the game’s momentum.

Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere’s shot through traffic brought the Coyotes within 2-1 with 43.9 seconds left in the period, just after Beauvillier exited the penalty box.

Keller and Nick Bjugstad scored two goals within 14 seconds as the Coyotes took a 3-2 lead at 9:09 of the second period.

At that point, the Coyotes held a 10-0 shot advantage in the period and had outshot the Islanders 18-1 since Barzal’s goal.

“It’s a good question,” Zach Parise said when asked why the game changed so drastically. “We gave up those quick two in the second. I’m not sure what changed. I’m sure we’ll look at the tape and find out what the difference was and why they were able to grab a little momentum.”

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.