The New York Islanders could hang with Dallas for a while. Once the third period opened up, though, the Stars ripped the game away.
Dallas scored three straight in the final 20 minutes Sunday night and rolled to a 6-3 win at American Airlines Center, snapping the Islanders’ five-game point streak at 3-0-2 and giving Peter DeBoer a rough return to Dallas.
For two periods, the Islanders answered nearly every punch. They tied the game twice in the first half of the night, then again in the second period after Dallas had gone back in front. But the comeback never survived the third.
Wyatt Johnston broke a 3-3 tie just 4:10 into the period with a wrist shot from the slot, and that was the opening Dallas needed. Jason Robertson then struck for his second goal of the game at 9:45, finishing a breakaway to make it 5-3. Less than four minutes later, Mikko Rantanen added the final blow.
The Islanders did get a signature moment from Matthew Schaefer, who keeps making history look almost casual. The 19-year-old defenseman tied the game 1-1 in the first period during four-on-four play, skating down the left side and beating Jake Oettinger with a shot over his shoulder. It was Schaefer’s 25th career goal, moving him past Bobby Orr for second-most goals by a teenage defenseman in NHL history.
Dallas answered right back through Robertson, who pounced on a Brayden Schenn turnover to put the Stars back in front.
New York found another response early in the second period when Kyle Palmieri buried a rebound off the end boards to knot the score again. After Justin Hryckowian gave Dallas the lead on the power play, Schenn made up for his earlier turnover with a goal at 17:45.
That was the Islanders’ last answer.
Ilya Sorokin stopped 32 shots, and Bo Horvat finished with two assists. The Islanders are now 5-4-2 as they continue their Western Conference road trip, looking to get back to the defensive structure that fueled their recent stretch.
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What made the overtime stretch especially notable was how involved Schaefer stayed once the game moved past regulation. He drew the tripping penalty early in the five-minute session, then remained on the ice through the delayed-penalty power play and the rest of overtime, a rare level of trust in a young defenseman in a high-leverage spot. For Islanders fans, it was another reminder that Schaefer is already being leaned on in ways that go well beyond the usual rookie experience. [Read more 🡒]