The Islanders managed to scrape together a point on the road against the Senators, falling 2-1 in a shootout, but honestly, it felt like they stuck around way longer than they deserved. They even killed a full two-minute penalty in overtime to drag it out. Matias Maccelli nabbed the team’s only goal, looking pretty good on the top line and pairing well with Bo Horvat in OT. But let’s be real, the big story is what went down with Cal Ritchie.
Ritchie’s Rough Night and Varlamov’s Stand
It was probably Ritchie’s worst game of the season so far, no exaggeration. His line just couldn’t get anything going all night, constantly hemmed in, passes missing connections. He actually found himself benched for much of the third period and even slid down to the fourth line for stretches. This kind of slump, especially so early, could be a real test for him to find the form he had late last season. On the flip side, Semyon Varlamov was an absolute rock star. He turned aside 18 of 19 shots from Ottawa, and if he can keep that up, it’ll be a massive help for Ilya Sorokin and the team. We need that kind of reliability when other guys are struggling to find their footing.
Penalties, Wiped Goals, and Scares
This game was a messy one, filled with drama. Early on, Kyle Palmieri got tangled up with Shane Pinto and limped off, giving everyone a scare after his ACL injury last season. Thankfully, he was fine. Ottawa had two goals wiped off the board in the first period, which kept us in it: Warren Foegele’s shot hit the crossbar and was initially ruled a goal, then overturned. Then Stephen Halliday beat Varlamov, but the Islanders challenged for offside and that one got wiped too, keeping it 0-0. Maccelli finally stole the puck from Pinto and ripped it past Ullmark with just 11 seconds left in the first, giving us a lead heading into the second. But the penalty parade was relentless. Thomas Chabot went to the box for high-sticking Brayden Schenn, then Logan Stanley tripped Ridley Greig, and a minute after Stanley came out, Cal Ritchie took a hooking penalty in the offensive zone. It just underscored his rough night. Ridley Greig eventually tied the game after Foegele set him up with a stretch pass from Artem Zub.
They definitely snagged a loser point, but this team has got to clean up the sloppiness and get Ritchie back on track. We need a full 60-minute effort, not just lucky breaks and incredible goaltending, especially with how tight things are going to get. What kind of adjustments are they going to make before the next puck drop?
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply