Wyatt Johnston and Jason Robertson absolutely buried the Islanders early in the third period, snatching a 6-3 win for the Stars after two periods of back-and-forth chaos. Those two goals in just over five minutes? That was the dagger, man, blowing open a game that was tied heading into the final frame. The Islanders showed defensive cracks all night, and the Stars just kept exploiting them until it was over.
Islanders Kept Fighting Back, But the Holes Were Obvious
You gotta give the Islanders credit, they hung tough in Dallas for two periods, erasing three different one-goal deficits. But every time they clawed back, it felt like it was just delaying the inevitable because their defense was just leaking all over the ice. Matthew Schaefer, Kyle Palmieri, and Brayden Schenn got the Islanders on the board, but those goals often followed some frustrating sequences or bad bounces that put them in a hole to begin with.
The Stars got their first score after the Islanders were buzzing in the Dallas zone, with Jake Oettinger without his stick. So what happens? Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin counter on a 2-on-1, Seguin rips a shot that somehow finds a hole in Ilya Sorokin. Ouch. Schaefer tied it up on a rush with a neat short-side shot, but then Schenn coughed up the puck behind his own net, letting Robertson walk in for his first of two goals. You just can’t give up plays like that. Palmieri tied it again early in the second after a heavy bounce off the end boards, only for the Stars to get a similar bounce and Justin Hryckowian to regain the lead, 3-2, on a power play with Logan Stanley in the box. Schenn’s equalizer from Anthony Duclair with 2:15 left in the middle period gave them a bit of life going into the third, but it was the last time they’d find the net.
Third Period Collapse Was Brutal to Watch
They went into the third period feeling good after that equalizer, right? Wrong. The Stars just exposed them again. What started as an odd-man rush turned into full-on zone possession, getting the Islanders all mixed up and leaving Johnston with a free look in the slot. He buried it, giving the Stars the lead they wouldn’t give up.
Then, just when you thought it couldn’t get worse, Robertson snagged his second goal of the game on a clear-cut breakaway. Adam Pelech and Tony DeAngelo were totally out of position after Bo Horvat got stripped trying to split the Stars D. Mikko Rantanen, who didn’t even have Alex Romanov to shove into the boards this time, finished things off at 13:02, sealing the deal. Just a complete defensive breakdown when it mattered most.
The road trip keeps rolling for the Islanders, with their next game on Tuesday night in Nashville against the Predators, who are a similar .500-ish team. Let’s hope they can patch up those defensive holes quick, or it’s gonna be a long trip.
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.
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