From the outset, it looked like the Islanders were finally starting to suffer from the exhaustion that was supposed to catch them on Tuesday night. Playing their third road game in four nights, the Islanders didn’t appear to be ready for the speed and skill of the Golden Knights and certainly didn’t play them as strongly as they had eight days ago in Brooklyn.
The opening period was spent primarily in the Islanders defensive zone as the Golden Knights controlled play and didn’t allow New York to set up much of anything. However, Thomas Greiss stopped everything he saw and kept the score tied at 0-0 until two of the Isles’ most skilled players gave them a quick 2-0 lead to close out the frame.