The New York Islanders came back from a 2-0 third-period deficit but fell to the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in a shootout on Monday afternoon from the Barclays Center.
Vladimir Tarasenko scored a pair of goals in regulation and added a tally in the shootout to help secure both points for St. Louis.
Both Jordan Eberle and Anthony Beauvillier were denied by Blues goalie Jake Allen in the shootout.
Anders Lee scored the game-tying goal with less than one minute remaining to complete the comeback and force the extra period to rescue at least a point for the Islanders.
After getting lit up for five goals by the Columbus Blue Jackets on opening night, Thomas Greiss returned to form, stopping 32 of 35 shots on the night.
St. Louis’ Allen was up to the challenge though as he made 40 saves in the winning effort.
The two goalies managed to put up zeroes for the first 30 minutes of the night before the Blues struck first thanks to playmaking abilities of the star forward Tarasenko.
Draped by Eberle while moving toward the Islanders’ net, St. Louis’ No. 91 spun off his defender while simultaneously lifting a backhander past Greiss with 10:22 left in the second period.
The initial threat came off a turnover from defenseman Calvin de Haan, who has made it a habit of sending out loose passes in the defensive zone this season.
New York had plenty of chances, including a 5-on-3 power play, but they were unable to beat Allen. It was a frustrating spell for the hosts, who started the season 0-for-10 on the man advantage. They went 0-for-6 on Monday.
Tarasenko picked up his second of the period with 4:26 remaining when he snapped a wicked wrister over the left shoulder of Greiss on the power play.
In an attempt to shake things up, head coach Doug Weight shuffled his lines, moving Eberle to the second line and moving Josh Bailey to the first.
While the two players involved were not involved in the Islanders’ opener, the offense finally broke through with seven minutes to play when Andrew Ladd snapped a wrist shot through traffic past an obstructed Allen to bring New York back into it.
It was an unexpected big goal from a player who has gained the reputation of being a slow starter.
After killing off a late too-many-men on the ice penalty, the Islanders came up with their equalizer when Thomas Hickey’s slap shot from the point came off the pads of Allen and was pounded home by Lee with 59.2 seconds remaining to ensure at least a point.
