It was an unpleasant homecoming for Red Wings goalie Thomas Greiss, facing the Islanders for the first time since leaving free agency.
His counterpart Ilya Sorokin made 37 saves and Brock Nelson scored twice, leaving him one shy of his first 30-goal season, as the Islanders won, 5-2, on Thursday night at UBS Arena.
The Islanders (28-25-9), who have won two straight and are on a 7-1-1 run, moved within 15 points of the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.
Greiss, who allowed three goals on 16 shots in two periods before being pulled, played a memorable five seasons for the Islanders from 2015-20. He signed a two-year, $7.2 million deal with the Red Wings in 2020 as the Islanders made roster space for Sorokin.
“Greisser was a great teammate,” Mathew Barzal said. “He was a really fun guy.”
The crowd gave Greiss a loud ovation during a first-period video tribute, which the goalie acknowledged by waving his glove. Greiss’ wife, Brittney, on social media, said she didn’t come to UBS Arena because, “I would be an emotional wreck.”
Anthony Beauvillier beat Greiss nine seconds into the first period for the second fastest goal to start a game in Islanders’ history after Bryan Trottier scored in five seconds at Boston on March 22, 1984. Anders Lee’s forecheck forced defenseman Filip Hornek into a turnover and he fed the low slot for Beauvillier’s first goal in 11 games.
Oliver Wahlstrom made it 2-0 at 16:07 of the first but he was whistled for holding five seconds later and Sorokin made four saves in what turned into a five-on-three power play for the Red Wings (26-31-7).
Nelson scored a power-play goal in the second and pushed it to 5-1 at 14:07 of the third period.
Pius Suter’s slap shot over Sorokin’s glove at 13:25 of the third period snapped the Islanders’ shutout streak at 138:30.
