Detroit Red Wings vs. New York Islanders Pick & Prediction MARCH 4th 2023
Seth Cohen
The New York Islanders went all-in by acquiring Bo Horvat more than a month before the NHL trade deadline.
Despite being in the Eastern Conference wild-card race, the Detroit Red Wings spent the deadline preparing for future seasons -- and, general manager Steve Yzerman hopes, a time when he is the one overseeing a chase for the Stanley Cup.
A pair of retooled teams are slated to begin the final stretch of the regular season Saturday afternoon, when the Islanders host the Red Wings in Elmont, N.Y.
The Islanders have been off since Tuesday night when they fell in a shootout against the host Minnesota Wild, 2-1. The Red Wings suffered their fourth straight defeat Thursday night, when they lost to the visiting Seattle Kraken, 5-4, in overtime.
The Islanders and Red Wings enter Saturday as two of the seven Eastern Conference teams within five points of a wild-card spot. But only New York -- which occupies the second wild-card slot with 70 points, one fewer than the Pittsburgh Penguins -- approached the trade deadline with an immediate playoff run in mind.
The Islanders' playoff hopes were imperiled when they lost 10 of 13 games (2-8-3) from Jan. 1-25. But New York has steadied itself by going 8-3-3 since then, including 6-3-3 since acquiring Bo Horvat from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Raty and a conditional 2023 first-round pick.
New York scored four goals or more just five times in the 24 games prior to Horvat's arrival but has scored at least four-plus times five times in the 12 games since the deal -- despite losing centers Mathew Barzal and Jean-Gabriel Pageau for indefinite periods of time in that stretch due to lower- and upper-body injuries, respectively.
"When all those guys went down, other guys had to step up and fill that role," Horvat told reporters Tuesday. "I'm one of those guys that wants to be a difference-maker and fill that void that's been missing. Hopefully I'm doing an OK job at it."
The Islanders made one more addition Tuesday, when they acquired left winger Pierre Engvall from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a third-round pick in 2024. Engvall, who has 12 goals this season, is expected to debut for New York on Saturday.
The Red Wings, who haven't made the playoffs since their NHL-record streak of 25 consecutive playoff appearances ended in the spring of 2016, looked ready to surge into contention by winning nine of 12 games (9-3-0) from Jan. 24 through Feb. 23.
But Detroit has been outscored 20-7 over the last four games, including 15-3 in the three losses prior to Tuesday. The Red Wings received six draft picks -- including the Islanders' conditional 2023 first-rounder from the Canucks -- while trading left winger Tyler Bertuzzi, defenseman Filip Hronek, left winger Jakub Vrana and center Oskar Sundqvist since Wednesday.
Yzerman also signed Dylan Larkin, the Red Wings' leading scorer in five of the last six seasons, to an eight-year extension on Wednesday.
While the Red Wings' skid made their path to the playoffs more difficult, Yzerman -- who won three Stanley Cups with Detroit during his 22-year career -- said Friday even a more successful stretch of games prior to the deadline wouldn't have tempted him to make any win-now trades.
"I was not going to be a buyer under any circumstance," Yzerman said. "Not this year."
--Field Level Media
Detroit Red Wings vs. New York Islanders Recap MAR 4TH 2023
Captain Anders Lee scored twice in the third period as the host New York Islanders recorded four unanswered goals in a 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday afternoon in Elmont, N.Y.
Zach Parise and Kyle Palmieri also scored for the Islanders, who moved one point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins into the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins visit the Florida Panthers later on Saturday.
Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves for the Islanders.
Captain Dylan Larkin scored in the second period and Magnus Hellberg made 32 saves for the Red Wings, who have lost five straight games (0-4-1).
The Islanders held a 25-11 shot advantage when Bo Horvat was whistled for high sticking to set up the power play. Detroit converted as Larkin scored with 1:01 left in the second period.
David Perron, defenseman Moritz Seider and Robby Fabbri exchanged the puck in an around-the-horn sequence before Fabbri dished back to Seider, who passed into the crease to Larkin. The center corralled the puck, turned and tucked a shot over Sorokin's right leg.
Parise tied the score following an end-to-end rush 2:11 into the third period. Sebastian Aho weaved through the neutral zone before passing to Palmieri, whose shot clipped off Aho's stick and was deflected by Hellberg before Parise swooped in and buried the rebound.
A faceoff win by the Islanders led to Lee's game-winner just 2:28 later. Casey Cizikas outdueled Larkin and the puck bounced to Hudson Fasching, who immediately fired from the slot. His shot was redirected by Lee as the New York captain battled for position in front of the net with Red Wings defenseman Olli Maatta.
The Islanders put the game away with two insurance goals in a span of 1:41 late in the period. Defenseman Noah Dobson's shot from the slot clipped off the stick of Palmieri with 4:19 left before Lee scored seconds after a Red Wings turnover.
--Field Level Media
- NHL
