Holmstrom’s First Hat Trick Leads Islanders Past Ducks

Holmstrom scored three times, Matthew Schaefer had three assists and the Islanders beat the Ducks 6-2 on November 14. New York has now claimed victories in both of its recent games near Los Angeles, following a 5-2 win over the Kings on Thursday.

Ben Hutton opened the scoring 1:55 into the game, with Barzal assisting in his first appearance of the season after dealing with knee inflammation. Bo Horvat made it 2-0 in the second period before Anaheim’s Nikita Nesterenko scored just over a minute later.

Holmstrom scored twice in the second, 5:27 apart, to extend New York’s lead to 4-1. Mitchell Chaffee added another, assisted by Schaefer, before Ducks forward Cutter Gauthier scored late in the period. Gauthier has scored in eight straight games, with 15 goals during that run and 17 this season.

Holmstrom completed his hat trick at 2:41 of the third period on a pass from Victor Eklund. Matias Maccelli had two assists, while Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov stopped 25 shots. Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal made 19 saves.

The Islanders spent much of the contest with a shortened blue line, as Logan Stanley departed early in the second period with a lower-body injury. Jean-Gabriel Pageau was also out with a lower-body injury. New York hosts Columbus on Tuesday; Anaheim hosts Calgary on Sunday.