Islanders dominate Red Wings, earn fourth straight victory

Mathieu Darche was asked the day before the Islanders’ latest win just what he’s seen from his team.

“Well, we can score goals,” the first-year general manager said.

Yes, they can.

Thursday night’s  dominant 7-2 victory  over the Red Wings at UBS Arena gave the Islanders 20 goals during their four-game winning streak.

And unlike some other winning efforts, this was a complete one, with the defensive structure and awareness matching the offensive production. David Rittich,   making his second start, was staked to a 5-0 lead and stopped 31 shots for the Islanders (4-3-0).

Emil Heineman had his first career two-goal game and extended his point streak to a career-high five games, twice finishing rushes off feeds from Bo Horvat.

“We put a lot of the stuff we were working on together,” said Anders Lee, who had three assists. “A lot of the facets of the game were really good. Our five-on-five and our breakouts were a lot better tonight. We created a lot because we were in good positions defensively and had some rushes.”

Darche had emphasized on Wednesday the Islanders’ need to limit chances against them. The Islanders had been particularly prone to allowing shots from the slot.

“We’re changing the style of play, so there’s some growing pains going through it,” Darche said.

It will take a few more games to see if the Islanders have fully matured in that respect. They will open a four-game road trip on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia.

“I love how we were jumping on our first touch,” coach Patrick Roy said. “We were skating well. We didn’t give them a chance to close on us. That helped our breakouts. I loved the urgency we had to either block shots [22 to the Red Wings’ 11] or take those lanes away or protecting the pocket more.”

About the only downer was No. 1 overall pick    Matthew Schaefer  having his historic point streak to open his career snapped at six games. He was only the fourth 18-year-old — the youngest, as he followed Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby and Alexandre Daigle — and the third defenseman in NHL history to accomplish that feat. The only other Islander to do so was Bob Bourne in 1974.

Mason Appleton leveled Schaefer just before the final buzzer and Roy appreciated how his teammates immediately rushed to protect him. Defenseman Scott Mayfield drew a roughing minor and misconduct in the ensuing scrum and Kyle MacLean also drew a 10-minute misconduct.

“That’s a team,” Roy said. “That’s what you do for your teammates.”

Cam Talbot stopped 23 shots for the Red Wings (5-3-0), who lost to the Sabres, 4-2, in Buffalo on Wednesday night.

The Islanders made quick work of the sluggish Red Wings, with defenseman Tony DeAngelo opening the scoring with a rising wrist shot at 2:05 of the first period and Heineman, a bottom-six forward as a rookie with the Canadiens last season, notching his first goal on a two-on-one rush at 14:56.

“I wouldn’t say I’ve changed my playing that much, or my game,” said Heineman, who made it 6-1 at 7:19 of the third period before Simon Holmstrom scored the Islanders’ final goal 28 seconds later. “Bo is serving me really good passes, so I have my stick on the ice and trying to grip it and rip it.”

Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Kyle Palmieri and Mathew Barzal added second-period goals as the Islanders took a 5-0 lead.

Dylan Larkin ended Rittich’s shutout bid with a power-play goal at 3:11 of the third period, extending his point streak to eight games.

“Rittich is 2-for-2. He’s been great both games,” DeAngelo said. “He’s really talkative on the ice and moves the puck well.”

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.