While Patrick Roy was left in disbelief about some of the scoring chances that failed to go in the net, he was generally satisfied with the how the New York Islanders performed during a three-game road trip in which they were blanked on two occasions.
Coming off their second shutout loss, the Islanders return home to host the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night in Elmont, N.Y. and hope those scoring opportunities start producing goals on a consistent basis.
The Islanders totaled 10 goals in their other two games. They dropped a 5-4 overtime loss to the Utah Hockey Club in the home opener on Oct. 10 and posted a 6-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday that was part of a 1-1-1 road trip.
On Thursday, the Islanders took their second shutout setback of the season when they were handed a 1-0 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues. The Islanders took over 30 shots on goal for the third straight game but could not get the extra point when Ilya Sorokin was beaten by Jake Neighbours at 2:04 of the extra session.
“I thought we had our chances, especially in the third period,” Roy said. “A couple ones I couldn’t believe they didn’t go in. We had our chances to win that hockey game. Three out of six (points) on the road, these are tough places to play, Dallas, Colorado and here. I’m not saying I’m satisfied with it, but when I look at that road trip, I’d take three out of six.”
The best news for the Islanders is Sorokin’s early results. Sorokin has stopped 61 of 64 shots in his first two games after back surgery resulted in him not taking the ice until the end of training camp.
Montreal is off to an uneven start because it is struggling to keep opponents from scoring. The Canadiens yielded one goal in their two wins but were outscored 16-8 in their three losses.
Montreal began a three-game homestand with a 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators last Saturday. The Canadiens, however, struggled in portions of their 6-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday and 4-1 setback to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.
“I’m definitely disappointed,” captain Nick Suzuki said after Montreal went 0-for-5 on the power play to drop to 4-for-22 this season.
“It was an immature effort from us, especially with them playing (Wednesday) and getting in late. I think we gave them too much life and let them feel comfortable. It’s on us to be a lot better than that. Mistakes that, if we want to be a good team in this league, we have to clean up. We know that and need to be better.”
Against the Penguins, the Canadiens allowed the first two goals and held a 3-2 lead for less than two minutes before allowing the final four tallies. Against Los Angeles, Justin Barron scored 7:02 into the game but Montreal allowed the tying goal late in the first period and the go-ahead goal 97 seconds into the second before conceding two in the third.
Montreal also played with a shorthanded defense corps after Mike Matheson exited with an upper-body injury in the opening period. Matheson’s absence forced rookie Lane Hutson into playing for over 30 minutes. While Hutson has four assists so far, he also is minus-6 in the past two games.
Matheson traveled to New York but defenseman Kaiden Guhle did not make the trip due to an upper-body injury. The Canadiens may also be without former top overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky, who exited Friday’s practice with an apparent shoulder injury.
