The New York Islanders understand they can’t rely on mounting dramatic comeback wins all the time.
The Anaheim Ducks learned that the hard way on Tuesday night.
The Islanders will look to remain hot Wednesday night when they visit the Ducks in the final clash of the season between a pair of surprise playoff contenders.
The Islanders have been idle since Sunday, when captain Anders Lee scored the game-winning goal with 32 seconds left in the third period of a 5-4 victory over the visiting Florida Panthers.
The Ducks will be completing a back-to-back set after their five-game winning streak ended Tuesday night with a 5-1 loss to the visiting Colorado Avalanche.
Lee’s goal capped the fifth straight win for the Islanders, who have overcome multi-goal deficits in each of their past three victories — the longest such streak in franchise history.
Prior to beating the Panthers, the Islanders returned from the Olympic break by hitting the road and recording 4-3 overtime wins over both Montreal and Columbus. New York trailed 2-0 in the second period against the Canadiens and Blue Jackets before falling behind 2-0 in the first period on Sunday.
The Islanders are tied in points with the Pittsburgh Penguins for second place in the Metropolitan Division. They are five points clear of the fourth-place Blue Jackets.
“I hope it’s something we don’t want to do every night,” head coach Patrick Roy said Sunday night, referring to the Islanders’ penchant for comebacks. “But, I mean, I love the fact that we don’t change our game. We stay focused and we do what we have to do.”
Lee scored two goals in New York’s 5-2 victory over Anaheim on Dec. 11.
After three straight comeback wins, the Ducks finally dug themselves too deep a hole on Tuesday night as the Avalanche scored twice in a span of under three minutes in the first period.
Cutter Gauthier scored at 4:50 of the second period for the Ducks, however Colorado put the game away with three unanswered goals. Gauthier’s goal was his team-leading 29th of the season and sixth in his past six games.
Gauthier’s strong performance aside, Anaheim head coach Joel Quenneville took issue with his team’s penchant for falling behind.
“Playing from behind is not traditionally winning hockey,” Quenneville said. “You can’t expect to keep chasing a game.”
The loss cost the Ducks a chance to move past the Vegas Golden Knights and into first place in the Pacific Division. Anaheim has 69 points, one fewer than the Golden Knights, who suffered a 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.
“We’ve been fortunate that we’ve come back and we’ve shown a lot of resiliency with the group, but you can’t do that in every game,” Ducks left winger Alex Killorn said. “It’s just not going to work that way, so we’ve got to find a way to get some leads and have some better starts.”
