Isles get point before heading out west

Lee’s Late Tally Salvages Columbus Day Matinee at Barclays Center

October 10, 2017 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Anders Lee celebrates the game-tying goal with one minute remaining in regulation Monday afternoon at Downtown’s Barclays Center, helping the Islanders salvage a point in an eventual 3-2 shootout loss to the St. Louis Blues. AP Photo by Seth Wenig

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Three points in three games.

Not exactly the result Islanders head coach Doug Weight was looking for following a 6-0-2 preseason, during which he emphasized the importance of getting out of the gate fast after the franchise’s brutal start to the 2016-17 campaign.

But the Isles will take it as they head out on a three-game West Coast swing after salvaging a point in Monday afternoon’s 3-2 shootout loss to St. Louis in front of a sparse crowd of 10,673 at Downtown’s Barclays Center.

“It’s a big point,” Weight insisted after his squad rallied from a two-goal, third-period deficit to force overtime on Anders Lee’s first goal of the season with a minute remaining in regulation.

“Being down 2-0 to that hockey club, home or road, we’ll take the point,” added Weight after the Isles (1-1-1) rebounded nicely from a disastrous 5-0 loss at Columbus Friday night by trouncing Buffalo 6-3 on Saturday and stealing a point from the undefeated Blues on Columbus Day.

Thomas Greiss made 33 saves Monday after getting the early hook in Friday’s loss to the Blue Jackets.

The 31-year-old German netminder kept the deficit at two against St. Louis (3-0-0), staving off several golden opportunities by the Blues during the final 20 minutes.

“[Greiss] played great today,” Weight said. “He’s a battler and he showed that after us getting down. He was a big part of us being able to scratch and claw a point out of this one,” said Weight.

Team captain John Tavares, who tallied twice against the Sabres Saturday night, had a chance to light the lamp in overtime, but St. Louis goalie Jake Allen got just enough of his point-blank potential game-winner to send the game into a shootout.

“We would have loved to get two [points], but we’re not too greedy right now,” added Weight.

“It was a good fight back we had.”

Veteran forward Andrew Ladd got the Isles on the board with just under 7 minutes remaining in the third period, setting the stage for Lee’s dramatic equalizer. But new addition Jordan Eberle and second-year center Anthony Beauvillier were both stoned by Allen during the shootout round.

Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko beat Greiss in the NHL’s game-deciding skills competition, leaving the Isles to focus more on the point gained than the one they lost.

“We battled back for a point tonight,” noted Lee, who led the Isles with 34 goals a season ago.

The Isles had to battle, scratch and claw their way back into playoff contention during a furious second-half push last season after the firing of Jack Capuano and nearly earned the final Eastern Conference playoff spot with a 24-12-4 finish.

Weight, who commandeered the late-season drive only to see the Isles fall a point shy of their goal, stressed the importance of averting an early hole this year.

Picking up a point in a game that seemed all but lost with 6 minutes remaining Monday afternoon certainly helps.

However, the Isles will now test their mettle on the left coast, visiting Anaheim on Wednesday night before taking on San Jose (Saturday) and Los Angeles (Sunday).

One area in which New York has got to pick up its performance is the power play. The Isles are 0-for-10 on the man advantage to start the season, including an 0-for-6 effort against the Blues Monday.

“After the first couple of penalties, we were definitely moving the puck a lot better, getting shots and had a few opportunities and a couple stuff we almost had, so it’s right there,” Lee said.

“Once we start getting shots and creating chaos for them, it’s going to open up,” he added. “Right now, we’re trying to make a little bit of the perfect play. We have to work through these kinks.”

Working through the kinks while picking up points is key for an Islander squad that wants to be a part of the playoff conversation all year long, rather than just trying to steal a spot at season’s end.

“We know we have to be better. We want to get two points every night,” said Lee.

Isle Have Another: Though he has yet to score his first regular-season goal as an Islander, Eberle has picked up a pair of assists in the first three games, including one on Lee’s equalizer late in regulation Monday … Tavares’ two goals against Buffalo on Saturday left him one shy of Bob Bourne (238) for seventh place on the franchise’s all-time list … Following their West Coast swing, the Isles will return to the five boroughs to visit the archrival Rangers on Oct. 19 before hosting San Jose here on Oct. 21 … By going 1-0-1 on their two-game homestand, the Isles improved to 48-23-13 at Downtown’s Barclays Center, the arena they can’t wait to leave, since relocating to Brooklyn at the beginning of the 2015-16 season.