Islanders rally from two goals down to force OT, then lose to Kings

There was another milestone start for goalie Semyon Varlamov — who made a crucial stop on a penalty shot — another record-tying goal by Matthew Schaefer and a comeback as the bulk of the game was played on the attack.

But all of the Islanders’ good moments added up to a 3-2 overtime loss to the Kings on Thursday night at UBS Arena as defenseman Brandt Clarke scored at 2:43 of the three-on-three period.

It extended the Islanders’ point streak to 3-0-2, and they are now 0-3-1 when yielding the first goal. In this case, it was a two-goal deficit as former Ranger Artemi Panarin scored twice in the first period.

“I loved the first 40 minutes,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “Despite the scoreboard, I really liked how we played. I’m trying to think what we could have done better.”

The Islanders (5-3-2) held a 43-27 shot advantage and, according to NaturalStatTrick.com, outchanced the Kings 74-62 in all situations.

Schaefer’s first goal of the season tied it at 2-2 at 7:06 of the third period and moved him into a tie with Hall of Famer Bobby Orr for second place on the NHL list for goals by a teenage defenseman with 24. Hall of Famer Phil Housley holds the record with 46.

“You could tell by the shots we were in the zone quite a bit and I thought we got better,” said Schaefer, who has nine points in 10 games. “It was good to come back.”

As for tying Orr, Schaefer said, “It’s crazy to have your name next to him with so many great things he’s done. It’s an honor. You don’t really look at the records and things like that.”

Varlamov made his first home start since Nov. 25, 2024 — a span of 696 days — as he continues his unprecedented comeback from two partial knee replacement surgeries. But he’s still searching for his first victory since Nov. 14, 2024, after his third start (0-1-2).

He smothered Adrian Kempe’s penalty-shot attempt with his right pad at 10:59 of the second period after Schaefer was called for holding on Kempe’s breakaway, and he made 10 third-period saves.

“Varly was good,” DeBoer said. “Panarin is one of the best goal-scorers in the world. It’s tough when you get in a hole like that . . . I can’t point enough to the penalty shot. That’s game over if they score there.”

The fans gave Varlamov a loud ovation when he was announced as the starter and chanted “Var-ly, Var-ly” when the puck was dropped.

Panarin lifted a short-side shot over Varlamov’s glove at 5:51, a target for shooters against him, as he edged to his right to anticipate a pass. He was beaten from the low slot at 16:37 as the Islanders scrambled to clear the crease.

“It was a great atmosphere today, fun to play,” Varlamov said. “The building was loud. I’m glad I was able to play the first game at home.”

Victor Eklund finally slipped a puck past Darcy Kuemper with a power-play one-timer to bring the Islanders within 2-1 at 14:06 of the second period.

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.