ELMONT, N.Y. — A blowout win over the Ducks after their long flight from the West Coast is no more an indicator of how the Islanders will fare this season than their season-opening loss two nights prior.
But there sure was a lot more of what new coach Lane Lambert is trying to coax out of the Islanders in Saturday night’s 7-1 win at UBS Arena. They carried the play in all three zones and played with a consistent pace — particularly in transition and counterattacking — that was lacking in Thursday night’s 3-1 loss to the visiting Panthers.
The Islanders defensemen were consistently pushing the attack, something Lambert has stressed since training camp opened. Scott Mayfield, who turned 30 on Friday, notched the first two-goal game of his career. Robin Salo also had his first career two-goal game. The Islanders hadn’t gotten two goals from two defensemen in a game since 1993. Noah Dobson scored his second goal of the young season.
Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves as he started a second straight game, his shutout bid ended by Troy Terry at 1:29 of the third period.
Cal Clutterbuck, activated off injured reserve after experiencing shoulder soreness, and Oliver Wahlstrom both returned to the Islanders’ lineup. Wahlstrom scored a breakaway goal in the second period.
The four-game homestand continues on Tuesday night against the Sharks and following up a dominant performance with another strong one would be a good indication of which way the Islanders are trending.
The Islanders did not practice on Friday but Lambert said after Saturday’s morning skate he believed the Islanders had addressed some of the issues that kept them from playing quickly enough against the Panthers.
“I do,” said Lambert, who earned his first win as an NHL bench boss after being promoted from associate coach. “I think it has been pushed through and we're looking forward to playing quicker.”
The Islanders started outskating the Ducks after a sluggish few opening minutes by both sides. Passes in their own zone weren’t going from defenseman to defenseman — as Lambert said was the case too often on Thursday — but up to the forwards in the neutral zone to start the attack.
The defensemen also continued skating down low into the Ducks’ end to create chances. That resulted in a 1-0 lead at 10:34 of the first period when Mayfield got to the crease and poked in Anders Lee’s feed off an odd-man rush started by Anthony Beauvillier creating a turnover in the neutral zone.
It marked the Islanders’ first lead of the season and their first five-on-five goal after the Panthers outscored them, 2-0, skating five-on-five.
Matt Martin then set a screen after setting up Dobson’s shot from the outside to make it 2-0 at 12:08 of the first period. Dobson also scored on the power play against the Panthers.
Wahlstrom became the first Islanders’ forward to score this season when Jean-Gabriel Pageau sprung him for a breakaway and he beat John Gibson (22 saves) with a backhander at 5:34 of the second period. Gibson was pulled after the second period in favor of Anthony Stolarz.
Mayfield’s second goal, off Mathew Barzal’s cross-ice feed to the right point, made it 4-0 at 12:55 of the second period. He scored three goals all of last season.
Defenseman Ryan Pulock then found Beauvillier open in the left circle for a 5-0 lead at 14:27 of the second period.
Salo’s one-timer from the right point off Barzal’s feed gave the Islanders a 6-1 lead at 13:03 of the third period. He added a second goal with 56.6 seconds left.
