Islanders make it five in a row with tough win over Avalanche

The defense corps was patchwork with Scott Perunovich being the latest newcomer for the Islanders. So the Avalanche’s ability to play keepaway for long stretches in the offensive zone as their pressure forced turnovers was not shocking.

Which is not to say the Islanders played poorly. Rather, their grit and resiliency, plus goalie Ilya Sorokin’s brilliant work, were beyond commendable.

And they were rewarded for that with a gutsy 5-2 win on Tuesday night at UBS Arena to conclude a 5-2-0 homestand with their season’s high fifth straight victory.

Sorokin made 30 saves for the Islanders (22-20-7), preserving a one-goal edge by stoning Nathan MacKinnon’s rebound try at 3:11 of the third period.

Simon Holmstrom, coming out with the puck deep in the Avalanche’s zone, lifted a wrister over Mackenzie Blackwood (24 saves) to give the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 1:54 of the third period. Coach Patrick Roy also preserved that one-goal edge when he successfully challenged Jack Drury interfered with Sorokin on defenseman Josh Manson’s apparent goal from the right point at 4:39.

It was a significant turning point considering the Avalanche (29-21-2) would have gone on the power play in a tie game had Roy’s challenge been unsuccessful.

Perunovich then got the secondary assist as Anders Lee, behind the crease, found Bo Horvat for a 3-1 lead at 11:23. But a bad change of personnel left Drury alone to get to the crease and close the gap to 3-2 at 14:55. Defenseman Alexander Romanov regained a two-goal edge from the left point off an offensive-zone faceoff win by Casey Cizikas at 17:31. Holmstrom added an empty-netter.

The 5-10 175-pound Perunovich, 26, made his debut after being acquired from the Blues on Monday for a conditional fifth-round pick in 2026. Tony DeAngelo was playing his second game for the Islanders after being signed out of the KHL on Friday for a prorated one-year deal worth $775,000 covering the rest of this season.

The rest of the defense corps consisted of regulars Alexander Romanov, Scott Mayfield, Adam Pelech and rookie Isaiah George, with DeAngelo and Mayfield the only two right-handed shots.

Defensemen Noah Dobson (lower body/long-term injured reserve) and Ryan Pulock (upper body/injured reserve) were both lost in the preceding two matches and Mike Reilly (heart condition/LTIR) is also sidelined indefinitely.

Despite the Avalanche’s constant pressure, the Islanders took a 1-0 lead at 4:11 of the first period as DeAngelo, notching his first point with his new team, fed Brock Nelson up ice and Nelson got it to Lee, who converted a backhand at the crease. But the Avalanche finally broke through to tie it at 1-1 at 13:00 as MacKinnon used his speed and stickhandling to gain the offensive zone and find Artturi Lehkonen, sitting on the ice, at the left post.

Sorokin made 14 saves in the first period as the Avalanche consistently used their speed to their advantage.

Notes & quotes: Maxim Tsyplakov rejoined the lineup after serving a three-game suspension for his high hit on the Flyers’ Ryan Poehling and then being a healthy scratch for Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Hurricanes. “I miss hockey a little bit because I don’t play,” said the Russian rookie, who started Tuesday’s match on Kyle MacLean’s fourth line with Marc Gatcomb. “I think, for me, it’s a good time for a rest.” Tsyplakov added he does believe he learned from his unwanted time off. “I looked at how the team played without me and how this looks from the outside. I know how we’re playing better…” Forwards Pierre Engvall and Matt Martin and defenseman Dennis Cholowski were the healthy scratches…Goalie Jakub Skarek backed up Sorokin with Marcus Hogberg (upper body/IR) sidelined.