PITTSBURGH — Noah Dobson was on course for a Sunday that would force the league to put some respect on the 24-year-old’s breakout season.
For the sixth time this season, he’d put together a three-assist game, this one coming on the biggest stage the Islanders had played on all season, both figuratively and literally, with nearly 80,000 watching at MetLife Stadium.
They were on track to score a signature victory over the Rangers, with Dobson the MVP of the day.
Then the Rangers came back to force overtime and Dobson, seconds into the extra period, tried to go up the middle of the ice and gave the puck straight to Artemi Panarin, who promptly ended the game in a 6-5 Rangers win as Dobson slid into the net in vain.
“It’s pretty self-explanatory,” Dobson said afterward. “He gets the puck out of midair. They take a shot, and it goes in.”
The 24-year-old defenseman has emerged as a Norris Trophy candidate this season with over a point per game and a heavy load of minutes.
But this one, he will have to wear.
“Obviously, I would prefer not trying to make a saucer [pass] in the middle of the ice,” coach Patrick Roy said. “I would prefer the defenseman skating. That’s what we did all night long, and we had some success. I thought that today we managed the puck so well for the entire game and sometimes in overtime, you think you can do those things.”
Dobson, in fact, had done exactly what Roy wanted and skated the puck up the ice on one of his assists early in the game, when Bo Horvat scored at four-on-four.
His puck-moving ability in general is one of his best assets, and it was on display for 60 minutes of a game that lasted 60:10 on Sunday.
“Obviously, not really focused on that,” he said about the three assists. “I’m just trying to do what I can each night to help us get wins. Obviously it’s super important this time of year. It’s unfortunate.
“Gotta make a better play at the end there, get a different result. Just gotta get the job done.”
After the Islanders rode a season sweep of the Penguins to make the playoffs over them last season, Pittsburgh has a chance to move to 3-0 against the Isles this year on Tuesday, with the final match between them coming on April 17 in the regular-season finale.
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