Whew, that felt like a playoff game. While the game wasn’t as close as the score might make it seem (the Isles hit multiple posts and were overall dominant) neither team wanted to give an inch in the battle for first in the division.
Both goalies were phenomenal, and it took over 50 minutes before Brock Nelson could break the deadlock. Varlamov had to come up huge for the Islanders on a few occasions, making sure the strong effort by the team would be rewarded in a game where goals were much harder to find than the 8-4 scoreline last time these two teams met.