Good Morning, Islanders Country.
For one night, the Vancouver Canucks arrived at UBS Arena with a strange distinction: they had never lost there.
In fact, Vancouver had not lost in any Islanders home building since 2018. Good Canucks teams had won. Average Canucks teams had won. Even struggling Canucks teams had found a way. For whatever reason, the Islanders just could not solve them at home.
That changed Tuesday night.
The Islanders jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead, only to watch Vancouver erase it and make the game uncomfortable again. This time, though, the Islanders answered. They controlled much of the third period and finally got the breakthrough they had been waiting for from Kyle Palmieri, who scored twice, including the game-winner.
“(It) felt good to contribute,” Palmieri said. “Just been trying to work in my game and make a positive impact with the team and help our team win. Felt good to find a way to get on the score sheet and obviously get the win tonight.”
Matias Maccelli was everywhere and turned in his best performance yet in an Islanders sweater, while Matthew Schaefer again logged more than 25 minutes.
It still wasn’t easy. Not against a team desperate for a win.
The Islanders never found the insurance goal that would have let everyone relax, and the final seconds were as tense as they could be. Marco Rossi got a shot off just after the buzzer that whistled past Ilya Sorokin, close enough to make the building hold its breath before everyone realized it wouldn't count.
