This was a game that the New York Islanders needed to have against a cellar-dwelling team in the Anaheim Ducks. Too many times this season, that sentence has been followed by “unfortunately...” Through 20-30 minutes, despite decent play, it looked like that might happen again.
But after Hudson Fasching knotted the game back up, the new second line turned it up a notch, taking the lead late in the second before a three-goal explosion in the third period. The second line, consisting of Pierre Engvall, Brock Nelson, and Kyle Palmieri, combined for eight points, four of them Palmieri’s.