Jean-Gabriel Pageau scores in debut, but Islanders fall in OT to Rangers
Lou Lamoriello made two trades to bolster the Islanders for their playoff push.
The president and general manager’s most recent acquisition, center Jean-Gabriel Pageau, paid immediate dividends with a goal and a fight in his truncated Islanders debut, a 4-3 overtime loss to conclude a three-game homestand at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum.
The Islanders scored twice in the final 6:37 of regulation while three players short, including Brock Nelson’s equalizer with 17.9 seconds left while skating six-on-five, to force overtime.
But defenseman Andy Greene, acquired on Feb. 16 from the Devils and playing his fifth game for the Islanders, exited at 6:38 of the first period after appearing to injure his left shoulder in a collision with Brendan Lemieux.
“He’s impactful,” coach Trotz said of Pageau, acquired before Monday’s NHL trade deadline from his hometown Ottawa Senators for a conditional first-round pick in 2020, a second-round pick in 2020 and a conditional third-round pick in 2022.
“You see how he changes our team in so many ways,” said Trotz. “You see how he stepped up. What a great pickup by Lou. The picks are nothing. A lot of picks never play.”
Pageau logged 12:07 with two shots while winning 10-of-14 faceoffs centering a third line with Josh Bailey and Michael Dal Colle and playing with the second power-play unit. But his night ended at 5:52 of the third period as he received a two-minute instigator penalty, a five-minute fighting major and a 10-minute misconduct for going after defenseman Jacob Trouba for his hit on Dal Colle.
The unsuspecting left wing was looking for the puck at his feet when he was leveled at the Islanders’ blue line and went directly to the dressing room.
Trotz listed both Greene and Dal Colle as day to day but otherwise had no updates on them.
“I want to prove that I want to be a part of that family and be part of that group,” said Pageau, 27, who immediately signed a six-year, $30 million extension with the Islanders on Monday. “You saw Bails dropped his gloves right away, too. I think it just shows how guys care here for one another and everyone wants to step up for one another.”
“He’s a real character guy,” said Bailey, Pageau’s roommate with Team Canada during the World Championships in 2018. “He’s a really good person and we knew he’d fit right into the team. He made a great first impression tonight.”
Pageau brought the Islanders within 2-1 at 17:04 of the second period. Defenseman Ryan Pulock’s blue-line blast went high and wide but caromed off the glass directly in front. The puck hit off Pageau’s body as he battled for position at the crease and he was able to backhand it past Alexandar Georgiev.
“It was just a lucky bounce,” Pageau said. “I thought we were doing a really solid job all game of putting pucks on net and trying to create traffic in front of the goalie.”
Pageau stepped onto the ice for his first shift as an Islander at 1:38 and his line and its forechecking efforts were part of a larger, dominant first-period performance.
Midway through the first period, the Islanders’ fans in the split sellout crowd of 13,917 were already serenading Pageau as they do Bailey.
“It’s a warm welcome and I really appreciate it,” Pageau said. “The organization, the team, all the players, they all made me comfortable from Day 1. They really made me feel like I was part of the family. To add to this, the fans did the same thing tonight. I feel very lucky to be here.”
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.
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