From comeback to collapse.<\/p>\n
After scoring five second-period goals to overcome a two-goal deficit in Saturday\u2019s win over the Panthers, the Islanders allowed the Penguins to do the same Monday, closing a crucial five-game homestand by surrendering seven unanswered goals in an 8-3 loss at UBS Arena. The embarrassing defensive effort \u2014 in which the Islanders allowed the most goals in a game this season \u2014 led to Ilya Sorokin being pulled for just the second time this season, as the team gave away a pair of two-goal advantages and a massive opportunity in the crowded Eastern Conference standings.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were just awful defensively,\u201d defenseman Ryan Pulock said. \u201cWe know what we did. We know what went wrong. We know what we need to do to play the right way \u2026 That\u2019s not us.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a potential playoff preview, the Penguins (37-21-16, 90 points) earned their first regulation win in two weeks and jumped ahead of the Islanders (42-28-5, 89 points) for second place in the Metropolitan Division. The Islanders remain one point ahead of Columbus for the final wild-card spot, while Ottawa \u2014 the next closest playoff contender \u2014 is three points behind the Islanders, with two games in hand.<\/p>\n
Goaltender Ilya Sorokin #30 of the New York Islanders reacts after he gives up a goal during the second period at UBS Arena, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Elmont, NY. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST<\/p>\n
Seven games remain \u2014 including Tuesday at Buffalo \u2014 in the regular season. Five more will come at home. Ultimately, this loss may not impact the Islanders\u2019 playoff hopes. But conveying that to the packed house in Elmont was impossible, as the collective mood segued from elation to silence in barely three and a half minutes.<\/p>\n
For 23 minutes, Ilya Sorokin was impenetrable. Anders Lee was opportunistic, burying a backhand off the boards for the game\u2019s first goal in the opening minutes of the second period. Mathew Barzal was a magician, setting up scoring chances virtually every time he touched the puck. He put the Islanders up 2-0 with a wrist shot 2:56 into the second period, then later fired a shot that rebounded off Pittsburgh\u2019s Arturs Silovs, which allowed Brayden Schenn to score for the second straight game, putting the Islanders up 3-1 with 10:43 remaining in the second period and halfway to a three-point lead over the Penguins.<\/p>\n
Then, the defense disappeared, repeatedly putting Sorokin on an island, leading to three Pittsburgh goals in the span of 3:34, beginning with Rickard Rakell\u2019s short-handed goal.<\/p>\n
Rickard Rakell #67 of the Pittsburgh Penguins scores a goal pass goaltender Ilya Sorokin #30 of the New York Islanders during the second period at UBS Arena, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Elmont, NY. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was definitely a turning point in that game, but after that we had a chance to get back in the game and we didn\u2019t match [them],\u201d coach Patrick Roy said. \u201cThe momentum shifted and we just couldn\u2019t get it back \u2026 It stings that we\u2019ve been doing so well lately and we just had a bad one in the system.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t like to be embarrassed like this in front of your fans, so we need to regroup and be ready for [Buffalo]. \u2026 We can\u2019t give that many chances and think we\u2019re gonna win hockey games.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just 2:29 after the short-handed goal, Ryan Shea tied it with a one-timer. Then, Anthony Mantha broke free, beating Sorokin five-hole to put the Penguins ahead with 6:25 left in the second period. Mantha closed the period with another goal, taking advantage of a defensive breakdown to beat Sorokin with a backhand.<\/p>\n
Arturs Silovs #37 of the Pittsburgh Penguins defends the net against center Mathew Barzal #13 of the New York Islanders during the first period at UBS Arena, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Elmont, NY. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOn the ice from Long Island\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Islanders by Ethan Sears, a weekly Sports+ exclusive.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
After the Penguins scored two more to start the third period, Isles backup goalie David Rittich replaced Sorokin, who allowed seven goals on 28 shots. Sorokin had allowed a total of four goals in the previous four games.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe let him down,\u201d Kyle MacLean said. \u201cHe\u2019s been so good for us and we can\u2019t play like that in front of him. He deserves better.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From comeback to collapse. After scoring five second-period goals to overcome a two-goal deficit in Saturday\u2019s win over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":536564,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5110],"tags":[5,122,3328,159,5190,5189,4,100,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-536563","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-islanders","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-islanders","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-islanders","12":"tag-newyork","13":"tag-newyorkislanders","14":"tag-nhl","15":"tag-pittsburgh-penguins","16":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116335265974564341","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=536563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536563\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/536564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=536563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=536563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=536563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}