The Islanders earned it — the game and the expected-goals battle both.
The Islanders won a game they dominated but did not deserve to win in regulation. New York held 66% of expected goals (4.54–2.39) and 64% of shot attempts (34–19), yet needed a shootout to avoid leaving empty-handed.
The culprit was finishing. The Islanders went 0-for-7 on high-danger chances—the kind of shooting night that doesn't repeat. With the volume of quality looks they generated, that's not bad luck; it's a wasteful performance.
J. Daccord kept Seattle alive. He made all 34 saves and stopped 4.54 goals above expected—a massive overperformance that turned a defeat into a shootout. That level of goaltending theft doesn't happen often.
The Islanders crashed the net effectively, generating 5 rebound opportunities without converting any. D. Rittich matched the resistance in goal, allowing nothing on 19 shots and saving 2.39 goals above expected. His task was lighter, but his execution was equally clean.
Kyle Palmieri ended it in the shootout with a snap shot from the slot—the only goal either team managed.
New York's dominance in underlying metrics should have produced a comfortable win. Instead, elite goaltending from Daccord and impotent finishing from the Islanders turned possession into a shootout. That won't hold up if the Islanders encounter another hot goalie.
