Islanders Defeat Sabers 4-3 Despite Hard Times – Hockey Writers – New York Islanders

The New York Islanders defeated the Buffalo Sabers 4-3 on Friday night despite multiple injuries to three of their defensemen. Alexander Romanov had missed the last three games for the Islanders with an upper back injury and went to the locker room for a while but returned later. However, Adam Pelech and Mike Reilly suffered injuries that prevented them from returning to action.

Here is Reilly’s song for Greenway pic.twitter.com/wE2Oegdj29

– Rob Taub (@RTaub_) November 2, 2024

The Sabers got on the board first with Dylan Cozen’s goal at 9:03 of the first period. He found a loose puck in front of the net before burying it past Ilya Sorokin. After 40 seconds, Bo Horvat tied the game with a halftime goal scored by Islanders captain Anders Lee.

The first half ended in a 1-1 tie, but Maxim Tsyplakov showed patience and skill just five minutes into the second half when he put the Islanders up 2-1. Seven minutes later, Tsyplakov found his way back on the scoresheet with a nice pass on the powerplay to Kyle Palmieri to extend the Islanders’ lead to 3-1.

Down 3-1 in the third period, Tage Thompson’s shot bounced off Jason Zucker’s glove and over Sorokin’s head to cut the Sabers’ deficit to 3-2. This goal came after a small penalty by Scott Mayfield which resulted in Zucker being given a penalty shot that was denied to Sorokin’s left.

Just two minutes after the Sabers scored one goal, Jean-Gabriel Pageau found a loose ball and put it into the net, putting the Islanders back on top by two goals. Although Owen Power tallied a goal with just over a minute left in regulation, the Sabers were unable to force overtime as the Islanders snapped a three-game losing streak with a dramatic victory in Buffalo.

The Islanders next play on Sunday (Nov. 3) against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The Sabers will head to Detroit tomorrow (Nov. 2) to face the Red Wings.