GDT Game 3: 10/9/17 | 12:00 PM CT | @ Islanders | FSMW/KMOX

[theohall]

NEW YORK -- Two teams hoping Saturday night victories were a sign of things to come will square off Monday afternoon when the New York Islanders host the St. Louis Blues in a Columbus Day matinee at Barclays Center.

The Islanders scored three second-period goals in a span of 1:47 in a 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres in Saturday's home opener.

The host Blues, who also played their home opener Saturday, scored the game's first three goals in a 4-2 victory over the Dallas Stars.

The win by the Islanders (1-1-0) provided a much-needed boost to a team that expects to return to the playoffs after a one-year absence. New York, which missed the postseason by one point last season, fell 5-0 to the Columbus Blue Jackets in Friday night's season opener.

"I know it's only game two, but it's a pivotal game, for sure," said Islanders right winger Jordan Eberle, who was acquired by New York from the Edmonton Oilers on June 22. "I've been on teams that have started poorly and confidence-wise, it buries you, that you're not a good team, and obviously puts you in a hole.

"Getting off to a good start is huge in the NHL season. It gives you confidence that you're a good team, you can play and be one of the better teams."

The Blues (2-0-0) displayed a stouter defensive effort Saturday than in Thursday's season opener against the host Pittsburgh Penguins. While St. Louis claimed a 5-4 overtime win over the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, the back-and-forth victory featured one lead change and three ties.

Eight players, including four defensemen, have scored at least one goal for the Blues.
"Everyone's contributing now," said Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who is the only St. Louis player to score two goals this season. "It's what the team is built on. It's what our system is built on."

Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak, who stopped all 11 shots he faced in relief of Thomas Greiss on Friday night before making 26 saves Saturday, is likely to start against Blues' top netminder Jake Allen.

Halak, who spent 3 1/2 seasons with the Blues from 2010 through 2014, is 0-2-1 in three games against St. Louis, which is the only NHL team he hasn't beaten aside from the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.

Allen, who stopped 67 of the 73 shots he faced in the Blues' first two games, is 1-1-0 in three career appearances against the Islanders.

Islanders right winger Cal Clutterbuck, who sat out Saturday's game with a lower-body injury, practiced with the team Sunday.

The Blues reported no notable injuries Saturday night, though Alexander Steen (broken hand) and Jay Bouwmeester (broken ankle) are expected to be out through at least this week.

The season series between the Blues and Islanders concludes Nov. 11 when New York visits Scottrade Center.

[glen a richter]

Going to this one, a win would be nice. Last time I went to a game Allen got shelled, Brodeur came in to save the day and the boys had a huge comeback win.

[Winning Unlimited]

The battle of the 91s!

[gaijin]

12:00 weekday start? Glad I'm off today.

Keep the wins coming, thanks.

[cardsfan04]

Every year I forget that Columbus Day is an afternoon game. I don't understand why though.

[theohall]

So who still thinks Schenn wasn't worth Lehtera and 2 first round picks? Replacing Lehtera with this caliber of a center - HUGE plus.

[gaijin]

So who still thinks Schenn wasn't worth Lehtera and 2 first round picks? Replacing Lehtera with this caliber of a center - HUGE plus.

No lie. He's been great so far.

And Tank with two goals today already.

[theohall]

Winner!!

Tough sledding in the last 10 of the 3rd, but still left with 2 points.

Would have liked to see Schenn, Schwartz, 91, and 27 instead of Pauly Walnuts in OT. but they still won.

[glen a richter]

Great game for 55 minutes plus the shootout. Not sure what Bortuzzo had in mind when he went ape shit, and he's damn lucky the Brooklynders didn't capitalize. Still giving up too many shots, both goalies were spectacular. I just wish I hadn't missed the first nine minutes but the train was running real slow. Anyway a w is a w against a non conference foe. Tighten up those 3rd periods though.

[theohall]

Bortuzzo thought that guy took a run at Jaskin intentionally interfering with him. Replay - it was more like the guy got knocked on his butt with coincidental contact running into Jaskin, but first impresssions and all led to Bortuzzo's reaction. Without Thorburn in the lineup, Bortuzzo is the "goon".

All you missed in the first 9 minutes was no one playing defense.

[Robb_K]

Nice to see The Blues win these early away games. I love the way Schenn has been playing, and his chemistry with Schwartz. Nice to be 3-0 to not start behind the 8-ball withg all these injuries.

[cardsfan04]

I haven't gotten to see much so far, so I could be off base here. But, it seems like we are playing really well most of the time with some letdowns. Twice in 3 games we have blown 2 goal leads with less than 10 minutes to go. That's a really small sample size and maybe some fluky things happened, but it's alarming nonetheless.

Still, 3-0-0 despite a lot of injuries and 2 road games. Let's keep it up.

[theohall]

The Blues are playing strong early games. Building leads. Then playing safe with those leads. They aren't playing the "shell" thing we saw under Hitchcock with leads. What I mean by safe, is the defense aren't as aggressive in support of the offense after they get that 2 goal lead. To me, this is normal, but one has to account for the play of the opponent in some instances as well. Basically, the Blues play better offensively when all 5 guys on the ice are more engaged in the offense vice being sure to keep areas covered once they have a lead.

All of the goals against this season so far seem to be a) screen shots or b) power play goals. Stay out of the penalty box and those leads might not vanish. Having watched quite a few other teams, the Blues aren't the only ones struggling with keeping a 2+ or more goal lead and dealing with the new rules in terms of slashing penalties. To be fair, some of the calls have been absolutely ridiculous - and I want the game called tighter, just not ridiculous level tighter like it currently is.

[glen a richter]

The injuries are a big deal too. In particular Thompson, I can see a lot of future excellence, but he needs to bulk up a lot. He's not physically ready for the NHL game and when Steen returns, Thompson absolutely has to go back down. We're not icing four offensively capable lines (as per the usual Blues) and this will become a problem sooner than later. I get not wanting to have too many rookies up all at once lest it look like a rebuild, but having Steen, Fabbri and Berglund all out for extended time isn't helpful when the replacements are Thorburn, Sundqvist and Upshall. That's a lot of offensive talent, Berglund included, sitting on IR.