Zach Parise scored twice and added an assist, while Brock Nelson netted his third goal in as many games, propelling the New York Islanders to a 5-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night.
The Islanders secured their second win in six games, seizing an early lead and overpowering a Kraken team playing its third game in four nights. Seattle has now lost five straight games.
Parise, who had his first multigoal game since Jan. 14, 2020, received praise from Islanders coach Barry Trotz. “His numbers aren’t staggering the last couple of years, but it’s the other parts of his game that are so valuable,” Trotz said.
Kyle Palmieri scored his fourth goal in four games, and Casey Cizikas notched his fifth of the season, capitalizing on a rebound off the end boards to help the Islanders build a 4-0 lead.
Mathew Barzal, a constant threat throughout the night, assisted on Parise’s first-period goal. Barzal, who played junior hockey for the Seattle Thunderbirds and led them to a Western Hockey League championship, received a warm reception from the Seattle fans. “It seemed like he was pretty excited to be back here in Seattle, a lot of Thunderbirds jerseys with ‘Barzal’ on it,” Parise said. “He was flying right from the beginning.”
Nelson’s goal at 8:53 of the first period, his team-best 18th of the season, marked only the second time in 13 games that the Islanders scored first. Parise’s first goal, initially waived off for goalie interference, was overturned after a video review.
Parise added an empty-net goal with 1:58 remaining.
Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves, facing minimal pressure for the first 30 minutes of the game. When Cizikas extended the Islanders’ lead to 4-0 at 10:33 of the second period, Seattle had only managed six shots on Sorokin.
“We didn’t have a lot of energy early, and we needed to give ourselves somehow that injection of life with something early offensively,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “And we couldn’t find that.”
Seattle goaltender Philipp Grubauer was under constant fire, making 31 saves. Grubauer had recorded the franchise’s first shutout in a 3-0 win over the Islanders just before the All-Star break.
“We weren’t killing plays quick enough, and it’s tough to break the puck out when you can’t do that,” Seattle forward Yanni Gourde said. “Once we got going and were better in structure and got the puck in the (offensive) zone, we can see how much better of a team we are.”
Gourde scored unassisted off a faceoff late in the second period for his 11th goal of the season, and Riley Sheahan scored early in the third period after an awkward bounce off the end boards. The Kraken had two great chances from Morgan Geekie and Vince Dunn moments later, but Sorokin made crucial saves.
“He made a couple of huge saves,” Trotz said. “It was probably a difficult game for him because he didn’t have a lot of work for the first 30 minutes, and then the last 20 or so we gave him a lot of work.”
CHARA RECORD
Islanders defenseman Zdeno Chara tied the NHL record for most games played by a defenseman, appearing in his 1,651st game, tying Chris Chelios. Chara, who turns 45 next month, debuted in the 1997-98 season with the Islanders and has also played for Ottawa, Washington and spent 14 seasons with Boston. Chara assisted on Parise’s empty-net goal.
Game Notes:
- Seattle scratched D Carson Soucy and F Jonas Donskoi. Donskoi had played in 51 of 52 games this season.
- New York G Semyon Varlamov was activated from COVID-19 protocol after being placed there on Feb. 12.
- Seattle coach Dave Hakstol mentioned that there might be an update on F Jaden Schwartz’s timeline in a few days. Schwartz has missed 22 games following hand surgery but has resumed skating.
UP NEXT:
- Islanders: At San Jose on Thursday.
- Kraken: Host Boston on Thursday.
