Despite 47 shots on goal, Islanders lose to Sharks in shootout
Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, left, looks for the puck as a shot by Islanders left wing Anders Lee is blocked by Sharks goaltender James Reimer during the second period of an NHL game in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday. Credit: AP/Josie Lepe
SAN JOSE, Calif. — So much of the Islanders’ game had a feel-good vibe, from Zdeno Chara setting an NHL record to Zach Parise’s career milestone to setting a season high with 47 shots on goal to a dominant third period.
Yet in this season gone wrong, the Islanders could muster only a point in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Sharks on Thursday night at SAP Center, dropping them 18 points out of a playoff spot.
"We were fine in the first,'' Barry Trotz said. "I think we were very good in the second. I thought we were great in the third and I thought we were fantastic in the overtime. It might have been our best game of the year. We didn’t get the two points, but we deserved the two points. If you play to that level every night, you’ll get a lot of points. We were really good. The hockey gods didn’t bless us tonight.''
The Islanders fell to 1-5 in shootouts this season.
Chara set the NHL record for defensemen by playing in his 1,652nd game. He also engaged in his 76th career fight as he took on Jeffrey Viel — seven inches shorter and 45 pounds lighter — at 2:29 of the second period. And Parise, with his second straight multi-point game, notched his 400th career goal to tie it at 2 at 12:48 of the second period.
"I thought we played a really good game and deserved a better outcome,'' Parise said. "We threw a lot of shots at the net, had a lot of zone time. Just top to bottom, we played really well but unfortunately couldn’t get the winner. Hit some posts in the third and overtime. Just one of those games where you leave feeling like you played well.''
The Islanders (19-20-8) got 25 saves from Ilya Sorokin but went 0-for-3 on the power play. The Sharks were 2-for-2.
Logan Couture’s goal in the first round of the shootout stood up for the Sharks (23-22-6), who snapped an 0-3-4 skid. James Reimer, who stopped all 13 shots he faced in the third period and made 44 saves overall, stopped Anthony Beauvillier, Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson in the shootout.
"I guess there’s frustration,'' Adam Pelech said. "But honestly I think that we need to take the positives from that and that’s a clear picture of how we play when we’re successful. So I think it’s less frustration and more something for us to build off of.''
Sharpshooter Oliver Wahlstrom returned after missing two games with an upper-body issue, forcing Josh Bailey out of the lineup as a healthy scratch for the first time since Nov. 8, 2015, according to team statistician Eric Hornick.
"Those are always tough conversations because they’re really good pros," Trotz said. "But at the same time, they recognize that there are certain things that we’ve got to do and, with all the games coming up, it might benefit them as well."
The Islanders opened their five-game trip with a 5-2 win in Seattle on Tuesday night but have not won consecutive games since winning three straight from Jan. 17-21. They have not won two straight games in regulation since Nov. 4-6.
"It’s not a great stat," Cal Clutterbuck said. "We have won a lot in bunches before and I think the group that we have here is that group. It’s just time for us to recognize what it is we’re doing when we’re having success, and if we can manage to do that consistently, then the results will start to add up."
After allowing the first goal in 11 of 12 games, the Islanders scored first for the second straight time as Nelson’s deflection of defenseman Scott Mayfield’s shot from the right point made it 1-0 at 14:56 of the first period. It extended Nelson’s goal streak to four games and his team lead to 19 goals.
The Islanders had already had two power plays that could not generate a shot when the Sharks tied it at 1 seven seconds into their first power play. Alexander Barabanov beat Sorokin from the left circle after drawing an interference call against Pelech.
The Sharks made it 2-for-2 on the power play as Couture connected from the left circle at 16:31 of the second period after Jean-Gabriel Pageau drew an extra two for roughing to go with a fighting major after he confronted Matt Nieto for his hard hit on defenseman Ryan Pulock.
But Pelech’s slap shot through traffic tied it at 3 just 19 seconds later.
Jasper Weatherby’s unassisted goal as he threw it toward the net from the right wall had put the Sharks ahead 2-1 at 17:32 of the second period.
The road trip continues with a weekend back-to-back in Los Angeles and Anaheim.
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.
