Golden Knights fall to Islanders 2-1 in final game before All-Star break
It’s a foregone conclusion that the Golden Knights will set the NHL record for most victories by a team in its inaugural season.
But a hot goaltender kept the Knights from tying the mark Thursday.
Jaroslav Halak blanked the Knights for nearly 55 minutes to lead the New York Islanders to a 2-1 victory in front of an announced gathering of 18,184 at T-Mobile Arena in the final game before the All-Star break.
“They were better. It’s plain and simple,” Knights forward Erik Haula said. “We weren’t at our best, and I think it showed in the second period. We didn’t have the jump we usually do. We fought back, but it was a little too late.”
The Knights (32-12-4, 68 points), who were looking to tie the 1993-94 Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Florida Panthers with their 33rd victory, lost for the first time in regulation at home since a 3-0 setback to Dallas on Nov. 28.
The Islanders (25-20-5, 55 points) entered the game No. 3 in the NHL in goals per game, but the high-scoring shootout many expected never developed.
Rather, the Knights struggled to convert against the league’s worst defense despite a 39-25 edge in shots on goal.
Ross Johnston notched his first career NHL goal in the second period and Jordan Eberle scored with 11:39 remaining in the third to put the Islanders on top 2-0.
Halak finished with 38 saves, including a shoulder stop on Perron’s drive from the left faceoff circle with 15.2 seconds remaining.
“We gave them an earful between the first and the second, and the response was unreal,” Islanders coach Doug Weight said. “We played a hell of a game the second and third periods, I don’t care what the shots say. We chased down pucks,. We made plays. Our goaltender was our first star. Two teams have left this building with two points so that’s pretty special.”
The Knights finally solved Halak with 5:07 left, as Perron threw a long shot through traffic that Haula deflected for a power-play goal.
It was Haula’s 17th goal and his career-high 35th point.
Eberle put the Islanders ahead 2-0 after Mathew Barzal created a turnover and found him alone in the slot for his 17th goal.
Marc-Andre Fleury had 23 saves for the Knights.
The Islanders nearly took the lead early in the second when defenseman Adam Pelech’s shot went off the crossbar, and then caught a break midway through the period to go up 1-0.
Ross Johnston, a fourth-line wing, took a cross-ice pass from defenseman Ryan Pulock and threw a pass toward the front of the net that deflected off the stick of Knights forward Cody Eakin and slid past Fleury.
It was the first NHL goal for the Johnston, 23, in his fourth career game.
“The first was pretty decent, and then the second period we came out flat it felt like,” Perron said. “We weren’t handling the puck right and we weren’t moving our legs good enough and you kind of saw the result. We had a good push in the third, but we didn’t push hard enough.”
Halak was busy in the first period, as the Knights peppered him with 13 shots and sent a handful of other chances wide of the net.
Brendan Leipsic had the Knights’ best chance on a breakaway with a little less than two minutes remaining in the period, but the Islanders’ goaltender got a glove on the backhander.
Oscar Lindberg pounced on a loose puck in the offensive zone and clanked a shot off the left post eight minutes into the game.
“We just weren’t hungry enough. That’s the bottom line,” Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. “I thought we played OK, but we weren’t hungry enough to score goals and it cost us at the end.”
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.
