Utah Loses 2-1 After New York Islanders Storm Back With Two Goals In Third Period

In its third home game in a row, Utah lost to the New York Islanders 2-1 after allowing a third period comeback.

The last time Utah played New York, it came out with a 5-4 OT win after Utah forward Dylan Guenther scored the game winning goal.

But unlike the last time these teams matched up, Guenther wasn't able to play due to his recent lower-body injury and Utah wouldn't be able to force overtime.

New York was able to break the tie late into the third period after a flurry of shots got Utah goalie Connor Ingram, who was back for his first game since Nov. 18, lying down on the ice in an attempt to prevent the puck from going in.

With Ingram forced into an uncomfortable position, Islanders forward Mathew Barzal would take advantage and shoot it over Ingram for the game winning goal.

Teammates Anders Lee and Brock Nelson were credited with assists on the play.

Funny enough, Barzal, Lee and Nelson also accounted for the Islanders first goal of the night with Nelson being the one who scored instead of Barzal. Lee had assists on both goals while Nelson and Barzal both had one goal and one assist.

With time running out, Utah would empty its net immediately in a last ditch effort to tie the game up and force it to overtime. As time was expiring, New York blocked Utah's last three shot attempts to end the game and secure its win.

After forcing the Islanders to only 5 shots in the second period, Utah was unable to replicate that same success as it allowed the Islanders to get 13 shots on goal in the third period compared to Utah's 7.

Along with the shot disparity, Utah struggled to control the game like it did in the second period as it saw less time in the offensive zone and had to consistently rely on Ingram to save shots.

Utah also struggled with its giveaways as it had 25 on the night while only forcing 10 giveaways from New York.

Related: Utah's Barrett Hayton Ends Home Losing Streak With Late Goal Against San Jose Sharks

In its win against the Sharks, Utah's Nick Schmaltz and teammate Barrett Hayton both stepped up for Utah as both scored goals as Utah dealt with the absence of Guenther for the first time.

Entering tonight's game though, the question of who would step up to replace Guenther's production still remained as it was unclear if Schmaltz and Hayton could replicate their previous success.

But for a second time, it was Schmaltz who would deliver as he scored Utah's only goal in the second period.

With a shot from Utah's Michael Kesselring coming, Schmaltz found himself perfectly positioned in front of Islanders backup goalie Marcus Hogberg as the puck deflected off his stick and into the net. It was Schmaltz eighth goal of the season.

Utah would almost get a second goal a couple minutes later after a shot from captain Clayton Keller went behind Hogberg and seemed to be going in the net. However, New York defenseman Adam Pelech came in clutch as he entered the goal behind Hogberg and stopped the puck from crossing the goal line all the way.

With Pelech's block, Hogberg would have enough time to recover and fall on the puck. While Utah would manage to get other shots on the goal, none would come as close as the shot from Keller here and it would prove to make a huge difference in the final outcome of this game.

Though Utah was still without Guenther for this game, it did gain some help as Ingram, Utah's starting goalie, returned to the lineup.

Ingram was tested early and often throughout the first period as the Islanders outshot Utah 14-5, however, Ingram didn't seem to have any rust as he was able to save each shot and stay perfect throughout the first period.

While Utah still lost, it was promising to see Ingram still have a great performance despite being gone so long. On the night, he managed to have a save percentage of .938 and 30 saves in total.

Ultimately, Utah still comes away with a 6-9-4 home record after it was unable to win the second night of its back-to-back. While it isn't ideal to start a seven game home stretch 1-2, Utah can still come away with a winning home record.

Utah continues its home stand as it faces the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 14.

Do you think Schmaltz will continue to score for Utah or will someone else on the team step up in the next game?