For the Islanders it's another game without a win, though not another empty one. They got off the plane from Long Island after a Saturday overtime game and kept pace for 65 minutes. The worry was that the cross-country trip would show up late. It didn't show up as goals against: New York didn't give up anything in the 3rd or in overtime. Their problem was at the other end, where they also went 0 for the last 25 minutes of hockey.
San Jose's goaltending was the big question going in, with neither Askarov nor Nedeljkovic above .895 on the season. Whoever was in net, the Sharks held New York to 2 goals over 65 minutes. In this stretch of San Jose's season that's a good night, since 4 of the 5 losses before it came with 4 or more goals against. It isn't proof of a turnaround, but it's what the Sharks needed to give their offense a chance.
The line score shows how even it was. The teams traded goals in each of the first 2 periods, so no lead lasted longer than an intermission. There was no 3rd-period collapse, and nobody had a run of 2 straight goals. The Islanders had the depth the preview said they had, with Barzal and Maccelli getting closer to returning and Eklund coming in having scored in back-to-back games. They still couldn't produce the 3rd goal that would have won it, and Sorokin, after his 45-save game against New Jersey, couldn't take it from the Sharks' shooters at the end.
This also changes the home numbers a little. San Jose came in 3-5-0 at SAP Center, and the building hadn't helped them much. One win doesn't change that, and a shootout win against a team at the end of a long trip doesn't count for as much as a regulation win would. Still, Celebrini and the Sharks' young core needed a result before the losing streak became the story of their season, and they got one.
New York gets a point and not much else. The road trip started with the same problem it had against Carolina and New Jersey: they can hang around in games but can't finish them. They have more games out West to fix it, and getting Barzal back would help an offense that went quiet for the final 25 minutes here.
