Here came a season-opening game that asked — nay, begged — the Islanders to lose it.
But instead of ceding to the feeling of disappearing momentum that came as a two-goal lead went out the door, the Islanders instead charged in with some new energy of their own.
Instead of the sort of gut-punch loss with which they are a little too familiar, they earned a hard-fought 3-2 win over the Sabres on Saturday night at UBS Arena on the back of a late winner from Casey Cizikas.
“We didn’t shrink,” Cizikas said. “We rose to the occasion. We kept pushing forward, we didn’t sit back. We took it to them and got rewarded for it.”
What will feel good about this one is not just the two points against a likely playoff rival or starting the season off right in front of the home crowd, though those factors are surely welcome.
But the Islanders refused to let the moment beat them, showed some resilience and fought back to earn two points.
Early in the final period, it looked as though a collapse was coming.
The Sabres’ Casey Mittelstadt tied the score at 2-2 just 2:34 into the period, taking advantage after Noah Dobson failed to clear the puck from the crease by sending a backhand past Ilya Sorokin.
The game opened up from there, turning into a track meet at its pivotal moments. Mittelstadt, at one point, hit iron twice in a span of seconds.
Then at 13:40, Cizikas tipped in Adam Pelech’s shot from the point — a goal that withstood a review for a high stick, then a coach’s challenge for offside before it could be cemented into the scoreline.
“I knew it was close,” said Dobson, who was ultimately ruled to have possession and control of the puck as he entered the zone, allowing the goal to stand. “It was kind of an awkward play.”
It was a hold-your-breath moment in a hold-your-breath win — the moment in which the Islanders finally answered the questions thrown at them by the fast and unrelenting Sabres.
Notably, the Islanders did look for long stretches of the night like a team that could hold its own on speed — particularly in transition.
The opening goal, for example, had just as much to do with Pierre Engvall as it did Brock Nelson.
Engvall’s speed was on full display as he chased down Connor Clifton and turned him over on the left wall to create a chance, which Nelson buried at 5:57 of the first, extending his reputation for fast starts.
“I think we’re trying to jump by guys if we win the puck and be strong in that position,” Engvall said. “I think you could see that today. We had a lot of chances. I just think we gotta be aware, it can go the other way, too. If we take care of that, I think we’re gonna be good.”
Nelson picked up an assist at 18:18 of the period as well, getting a stick on Ryan Pulock’s rebound before the puck caromed off the skates of Clifton and Kyle Palmieri.
That gave Palmieri the goal and the Islanders the 2-0 lead.
Just over four minutes into the second period, though, the Sabres pulled one back as Jordan Greenway finished a scrambling run of play by sending Sorokin the wrong way and pushing one past him.
It looked, for a too-long spell following that goal, as if the Sabres had found a turning point.
The Islanders went from controlled in their own zone to on their heels, and struggled to tilt it back the other way.
That got worse before it got better.
Consider this, however: The Islanders, prior to Saturday, had not won a season-opener on home ice since 1995.
Asked if he’d been aware of that particular ignominy, Cizikas had a retort ready.
“That’s changed now,” he said.
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