Islanders Ring the Iron, Still Edge Anaheim 3-2
The Islanders had the better looks all night, and the final score barely shows it. New York's chances added up to far more than three goals. Anaheim's were worth about two, and that is what the Ducks scored.
The proof is in expected goals, which measure how much each team's chances were worth: 4.46 for New York against 2.10 for Anaheim. New York also outshot the Ducks 25-17. Brayden Schenn, Emil Heineman and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each rang a post, so this could easily have been wider.
Victor Eklund, Simon Holmstrom and Ondrej Palat scored for New York. Ilya Sorokin stopped 15 of 17 shots. At the other end, Lukas Dostal made 22 saves on 25 shots to keep it close. Leo Carlsson set up both Anaheim goals, scored by Alex Killorn and Frank Vatrano.
New York moves to 5-3-1, third in the Metropolitan Division. Anaheim falls to 4-5-0 after a fourth straight loss and is still in the playoff race.
