The Islanders pulled off a third consecutive two-goal comeback win and this time they didn’t even need overtime, though Anders Lee’s winner was practically that, coming with 32 seconds left in regulation on a stunning individual play by the captain.
Oh, also: Matthew Schaefer had another two-goal game, ho-hum, to bring his rookie season goal total to 20 goals at age 18.
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It was a wild, back-and-forth affair that saw the teams enter the third period tied 3-3 after the Isles erased a 0-2 deficit and then Bo Horvat erased a 3-2 lead with a terrible-angle shot on Sergei Bobrovsky late in the second period.
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Schaefer scored to give the Isles a 4-3 lead midway through the first period, shooting through legs again but this time benefiting from a couple helpful deflections. To leave him this wide open with time to pick a spot at the top of the slot is both criminal and very welcome:
The Islanders weren’t too bad trying to see out the game with a one-goal lead, but they allowed far too much traffic to develop through the slot once the Panthers pulled Bobrovsky for a sixth attacker. Sam Reinhart tied it with 1:58 to go, and there were some close calls around David Rittich’s net after that to hint this game might not make it to overtime.
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But the script flip came on the Islanders’ side, again, after they escaped some bad turnovers and consecutive icings. It started with a bouncing pass to the neutral zone from Tony DeAngelo. Lee not only handled the pass but batted the puck once out of the air as he cut across the neutral zone from left to right. Simon Holmstrom crossed with him, staying on side but mixing up the Panthers’ top D pair just enough to give Lee some daylight down the right wing.
His sweeping power move took Bobrovsky by surprise — or at least, the Panthers goalie sold out completely to face the backhand — and Lee was able to slam it home after carrying around the Panthers goalie and Aaron Ekblad. Gustav Forsling was just a foot short with his emergency reach.
Love Lee’s reaction, acting like it was nothing special, though he and the whole gang it was damned special indeed.
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That’s three consecutive wins and six points to kick off the post-Olympic period.
Those are kind of a big deal because now the Islanders head west for a pretty tough string that starts with back-to-back in southern California Wednesday and Thursday night before the trade deadline.
