SAN JOSE, Calif.— It wasn’t good.
The Islanders didn’t find their game until the third period.
But really, who cares about that?
The Islanders left California with two points in hand, and that’s what mattered most after Saturday night’s 2-1 overtime win against the Sharks.
With the Blue Jackets, their chances of catching the Islanders looked unfulfilled after falling seven points back a week ago, picking up points every night, suddenly there was a three-team race for two playoff spots to worry about, and Bo Horvat’s overtime winner drove the Islanders to the top, ahead of the Penguins and into the second division of the Metropolitan.
So, forget it, especially on the road and especially against a Sharks team that has the Islanders on their heels for most of this game.
Forget that it wasn’t a great second half; the important thing is that the Islanders reached the third game tied at one, and went from there.
That’s when, finally, things started to get popular.
That’s when the Islanders started to have the puck, putting their game down and creating pressure.
That’s when the top line of Emil Heineman, Horvat and Mathew Barzal began to make a positive impact on every shift.
They gave up a good chance in the form of a penalty kick by Kiefer Sherwood at 16:15 of the period, however, the Islanders blocked the power play opportunity, giving San Jose a five-of-four opportunity when Adam Pelech made the save.
Ilya Sorokin, however, rescued the Islanders by stopping Will Smith on a rush to help send it to overtime.
And at 4:21 of overtime, Matthew Schaefer fed Horvat with a quick finish.
Brayden Schenn’s debut had its moments, both good and bad.
His front screen helped DeAngelo’s shot beat Yaroslav Askarov at 11:37, and his hit to Mario Ferraro over the left field wall was the toughest of the night for either team.
Cal Ritchie looked comfortable on the wing, especially early in the morning.
The line of Schenn and Ritchie and Ondrej Palat came out with poor numbers on the night, however, a big factor in pairing up with the line of Macklin Celebrini, who scored against them 33 seconds into the second period on Celebrini’s quick shot from the slot.
Anthony Duclair, who returned to the lineup in place of the struggling Kyle MacLean, had a solid night on the fourth line, solid all night.
DeAngelo had one of his best games.
The three stars who didn’t look good in Anaheim or Los Angeles — Schaefer, Barzal and Horvat — were much better this time around, though it took them a while to get going.
When they did, it was a reminder of why they are so important.
Overall, the Islanders gave up puck possession too often and gave up the neutral zone with ease for 40 minutes.
They were 0-for-3 on the power play.
They rarely establish a cycle game and, except for DeAngelo’s opener, there wasn’t enough traffic up front.
All normal news at this point in the season.
The Islanders beat them on Saturday, but that’s getting harder to do.
