Islanders’ Barzal Named NHL Rookie of the Month for January

NEW YORK – New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal, who led all rookies with 12 assists and 15 points in 13 games (3-12—15), has been named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for January.

Barzal edged Tampa Bay Lightning center Yanni Gourde (6-2—8 in 12 GP), Islanders teammate Ryan Pulock (2-6—8 in 13 GP), Pittsburgh Penguins center Dominik Simon (4-3—7 in 11 GP) and Chicago Blackhawks right wing Alex DeBrincat (4-3—7 in 12 GP) for the honor.

Barzal registered at least one point in eight of his 13 January appearances, highlighted by 2-3—5 Jan. 13 at NYR – his second five-point performance of the season (also Nov. 5 vs. COL: 0-5—5). Only four other rookies have posted multiple five-point games within a single season during the League’s expansion era (since 1967-68); Barzal became the first to do so since 1981-82 (Marian Stastny).

The 16th overall selection in the 2015 NHL Draft, Barzal paces all rookies with 35 assists and 51 points through 52 contests this season. The 20-year-old Coquitlam, B.C., native joins Arizona Coyotes center Clayton Keller (October) and Vancouver Canucks right wing Brock Boeser (November and December) as a Rookie of the Month winner in 2017-18.

Holl scores in NHL debut as Maple Leafs blank Islanders 5-0

Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) -- Justin Holl walked into Air Canada Centre on his own a couple hours before Wednesday night's game, with his minor league equipment bag and a bundle of sticks in his hands.

He originally expected to have the day off. He was sure glad he played.

Holl scored in his NHL debut and Travis Dermott got his first goal in his ninth career game, leading the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 5-0 victory over the New York islanders.

"It's almost surreal," Holl said. "You're like `Wait did that really happen?' And you're like, `Nice, it did.'"

The 26-year-old Holl joined the Toronto organization on an AHL contract in 2015-16 before earning a two-way deal last season. He played in 239 minor league games before suiting up against New York.

"I have confidence in my abilities, sometimes you have to work a little harder for the things you want," said Holl, who was selected by Chicago in the second round of the 2010 draft. "You have faith it's all gonna turn out all right."

Holl and Dermott spent parts of the last two seasons together on the Toronto Marlies, making the evening that much more special for the blue-line duo.

"Crazy, you can't put it into words," the 21-year-old Dermott said. "You can't write it up any more perfect with (Holl) up here as my partner.

"It all came together perfect tonight."

Kasperi Kapanen, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner also scored for the Maple Leafs (29-18-5), and Frederik Andersen made 28 saves for his fourth shutout of the season.

Thomas Greiss stopped 45 shots for the Islanders (25-22-5), who also lost 4-1 at home against Florida on Tuesday.

"Just really unacceptable the level we're playing at," captain John Tavares said. "Not gonna win too many hockey games the way we've played the last couple nights."

Toronto had three rookie defensemen in the lineup after scratching regulars Morgan Rielly (upper body), Roman Polak (viral infection) and Ron Hainsey (illness). Holl made his NHL debut alongside first-year skaters Andreas Borgman and Dermott. Defenseman Nikita Zaitsev returned to Toronto's lineup after missing 17 games with a foot injury.

The Maple Leafs scored twice in each of the first two periods.

"When you play a fast team like that it's always a challenge," Islanders coach Doug Weight said. "They came at us hard and looking back we had some really good chances we missed.

"Our guys battled, we just have to find a way to be better."

Kapanen opened the scoring 5:37 into the game by jamming in a loose puck near the goal line.

Matthews doubled the lead when he picked up a Zach Hyman rebound in the slot and sent a wrist shot by Greiss at 13:39. Jake Gardiner started the play with a long outlet pass and picked up the other assist to extend his point streak to six games.

New York appeared to be gaining some traction before Marner skated into the slot and re-directed a Nazem Kadri pass to make it 3-0 at 10:32.

Tavares had a great chance to put his team on the board on the power play, but he juggled the puck at the side of an open net before getting off a weak shot that Andersen had no trouble with despite being on his back.

Dermott finished off a pass from William Nylander with 1:01 to play in the second. Matthews skated right to the Islanders net to pick up the puck as a keepsake for Dermott.

"He gets excited any time anybody scores a goal. You can hear him probably up in the press box," Matthews said. "Him scoring his first, he was pretty pumped up."

Holl made it 5-0 with a wrist shot from an off angle that slipped through Greiss' legs at 3:42. This time it was Hyman who collected the puck for his teammate.

"Obviously, good for those kids," Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. "You don't get to score your first NHL goal very often - one time."

NOTES: Toronto F Matt Martin was a healthy scratch for a third straight game. ... Islanders F Andrew Ladd was activated from injured reserve and inserted into the lineup after missing nine games with an upper-body injury.

UP NEXT

Islanders: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.

Maple Leafs: Visit the New York Rangers on Thursday night.

Sateri gets 1st career win as Panthers beat Islanders 4-1

By VIN A. CHERWOO
AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Harri Sateri had a long road to the NHL, and he was all smiles after his first career victory.

The 28-year-old rookie stopped 32 shots to help the Florida Panthers beat the New York Islanders 4-1 Tuesday night.

Selected by San Jose in the fourth round of the 2008 NHL draft, the native of Finland spent four seasons in the minors before playing the last three years with Podolsk Vityaz of the KHL. He made his NHL debut Jan. 2 at Minnesota and got his fourth straight start against the Islanders with Roberto Luongo and James Reimer sidelined by lower-body injuries.

"It's a dream come true," Sateri said of his first win after coming in 0-3-0 with 4.59 goals-against average. "Finally I'm here."

Mike Matheson, Evgenii Dadonov, Keith Yandle and Jonathan Huberdeau scored for Florida, which snapped a three-game skid and improved to 3-6-1 since closing December with five straight victories.

"We were on top of them all night, we didn't allow a lot of outnumbered rushes," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. "We tracked really well in the neutral zone, we squeezed well and we denied a lot of entries. I thought that was the difference."

Adam Pelech scored for the Islanders, who have lost four of six. Jaroslav Halak, starting for the sixth straight game and 15th in the last 17, finished with 36 saves.

"We just weren't executing that well and just weren't as quick to pucks as we needed to be," New York captain John Tavares said. "We just didn't make it tough enough on their goaltender. We just didn't have our best today."

Florida was in control from the start. Yandle increased the lead to 3-0 on a long slap shot from the left point near the blue line at 4:14 of the third period. It was his fifth goal of the season.

Pelech, playing in his 100th career game, ended Sateri's shutout bid 55 seconds later with his second.

Sateri had to make several nice stops down the stretch to preserve the two-goal lead, including two saves on Anders Lee with about 8 1/2 minutes to go, a wrist shot in front by Brock Nelson 90 seconds later, and a tip by Lee with 6 1/2 minutes left.

"He's played well enough for us to win, we just haven't been able to be good enough for him," Yandle said. "I thought tonight he was awesome. We played well enough to get him a win."

Huberdeau added his 17th with 1:11 remaining. It was his eighth goal and 16th point in the last 14 games.

The win moved the Panthers 10 points behind Philadelphia for the last wild card in the Eastern Conference. The New York Rangers, Islanders and Carolina are also in front of Florida, all bunched up within two points of the Flyers.

"No one's waving the white flag here," Boughner said. "I'm going to scrape every point we can. Tonight was a great start for that after the All-Star break."

Matheson got Florida on the board 8:57 into the game with a hard wrist shot from the right point that ricocheted off the back of the crossbar and back out. Matheson's fifth of the season was confirmed after a video review.

Dadonov made it 2-0 with 5:20 left in the second when he scored on a wraparound inside the right post. It was Dadonov's fourth goal and ninth point in his last nine games.

NOTES: Former Islanders great John Tonelli took part in the ceremonial puck drop before the game. Tonelli was on the Islanders' four Stanley Cup championship teams from 1980-83 and had 206 goals and 338 assists in seven seasons in New York. ... Former Islanders coach Jack Capuano, now the associate coach under Boughner, returned to Brooklyn for the first time since he was fired Jan. 17, 2017. Capuano spent 6 1/2 seasons as head coach of the Islanders, leading them to their first postseason win since 1993 when they beat Florida in the first round of the 2016 playoffs. He received mild applause when he was announced during a brief tribute on the videoboard during a timeout in the first period. ... Islanders C Casey Cizikas was activated off IR and returned after missing six games with an upper-body injury. He was the left wing on the third line with Brock Nelson and Alan Quine. ... Tavares played in his 638th game, tying Derek King for 10th place on franchise list.

UP NEXT

Panthers: At Buffalo on Thursday night

Islanders: At Toronto on Wednesday night.

Johnston nets 1st career goal, Isles top Golden Knights 2-1

By W.G. RAMIREZ
Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) – The New York Islanders joined the Edmonton Oilers as the only teams in the NHL to defeat the surprising Vegas Golden Knights twice this season.

Ross Johnston scored the first goal of his NHL career, helping New York complete a season sweep by defeating the Golden Knights 2-1 on Thursday night.

New York, which concluded the first half of the season by scoring a point in six of its last eight games (5-2-1), sits just one point back in the wild-card race and eight points back of Metropolitan Division-leading Washington.

"I think we've played some better hockey," Islanders coach Doug Weight said. "We did good things today and it's got to be something that'll be fun to watch on the flight home. We were starving for a 2-1 game, we got it against the best team in the league and it's really exciting."

Jordan Eberle also scored for the Islanders, while Jaroslav Halak had 38 saves.

"I think right now we need any points," Halak said. "Tonight wasn't any different. I think it was a really good road trip for us. We didn't get three wins, but we got five points out of six and we should be happy about it."

Vegas (32-12-4) was looking to tie the 1993-94 Florida Panthers for the NHL record for most wins in an inaugural season with 33. It was just the third home loss for the Golden Knights, who are now 19-3-2 at T Mobile Arena.

Erik Haula scored the lone goal for the Golden Knights. Marc-Andre Fleury, who will represent Vegas on the Pacific Division roster in the All-Star game, stopped 23 shots.

"It's disappointing after tonight, but if you look at since the beginning of the season, I think we can be proud of our team to be where we're at right now," Fleury said. "That's what we all try for, winning games and having success. That's why we've had success all season long. I bet if you asked me in September if I would be surprised, I probably would say yes. But seeing the way this team has been playing since the beginning of the season, I'm not too surprised."

Johnston, who was recalled from AHL's Bridgeport on Jan. 19, gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead in the second period after his shot was deflected Golden Knights center Cody Eakin, who was looking to prevent a pass to the crease, and inadvertently knocked the puck past Fleury.

The Islanders took a 2-0 lead off a turnover as Eberle beat Fleury with a point-blank wrist shot in front of the net. Rookie Mathew Barzal picked up his 35th assist of the season, including his fourth in as many games.

With 3 seconds left on a power play, Haula got Vegas on the board when he tipped David Perron's shot from the top past Halak with a little more than five minutes left in the game.

Though Vegas found some energy late in the game, it wasn't the same energy it's normally ignited by in its own arena. The loss snapped Vegas' home points streak at 12 games (10-0-2).

"We weren't as crisp as we usually are, we mishandled a lot of pucks, we weren't as sharp as usual," Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said. "We looked OK at times, and we looked like we had some good pressure, but for the most part the execution wasn't there tonight like it usually is. Up until now we played really well. It's too bad we couldn't find a way to get a point or two tonight."

New York, which came in ranked 30th both on the road (70.0 percent) and overall (73.8) with their penalty kill, were 1 for 2 with one man down. The Islanders also did a good job to slow Vegas' transition game, while also keeping its hottest scoring threat in check for most of the game.

William Karlsson, who has the second-most goals in the league with 27, was limited to just one shot. Karlsson had recorded a point in each of his previous four games, a total of five points, with four goals and one assist.

"We just got pucks in and played a great road game," Weight said. "They're a good hockey club. They're going to get their chances. We played a great game, we frustrated them and hopefully we can look back and say this vaulted us somewhat.

"When you look at it going into the break and two teams have left this building in four months with two points, it's pretty special and it's something we have to feed off of."

NOTES: The Islanders improved to 2-11-2 when they do not score three goals. They are 23-6-2 when scoring at least three. ... As the teams head to the All-Star break, Islanders center John Tavares will participate in his fifth consecutive game. ... Tavares will be joined by Josh Bailey who is making his first trip to All-Star weekend. It's the first time the Islanders have had two representatives at the event since the 2014-15 season. ... Fleury remains two victories away from moving into a tie for 13th all-time among goaltenders with 389.

UP NEXT

Islanders: host Florida on Tues. Jan. 30

Golden Knights: open a six-game road trip at Calgary on Tues. Jan. 30

Bergeron scores 3 as Bruins beat Islanders 5-2

By VIN A. CHERWOO
AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- A day after going without a shot on goal, Patrice Bergeron regained his scoring touch for the rolling Boston Bruins.

Bergeron scored three goals Thursday night for his second hat trick in less than two weeks, leading Boston to a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders that gave the Bruins at least a point for the 15th consecutive game.

Brad Marchand had a goal and two assists as Boston improved to 11-0-4 since its last regulation loss Dec. 14 against Washington - its best stretch since going 15-0-1 from March 2-30, 2014.

Bergeron had at least three goals in a game for the third time in his career and just 12 days after a four-goal performance at home against Carolina. He hadn't scored since that five-point night, but had four assists in four games, including two in a win at home against Montreal on Wednesday night.

"Last game was one of those nights where I was trying to find my wingers," the 32-year-old center said. "Tonight I was getting the looks again and I was trying to take them."

With 19 goals in 39 games this season, Bergeron is on pace to eclipse his career high of 32 set two season ago.

"I feel like I'm shooting just as much, maybe I get some better looks and Brad is finding me a little bit more in the slot," Bergeron said. "Puck goes in sometimes and sometimes it doesn't, and right now it is so I'm going to try to keep shooting and keep trying to find the back of the net."

Ryan Spooner had a goal and an assist, and Anton Khudobin stopped 22 shots as the Bruins improved to 20-3-4 since Nov. 15 and pulled within five points of first-place Tampa Bay in the Atlantic Division.

Jordan Eberle and John Tavares scored for New York, which has dropped seven of 10 - with each of the losses coming in regulation. Jaroslav Halak made 29 saves.

Bergeron completed the hat trick when he took a pass from Marchand, spun and fired from the left circle at 3:45 of the third period.

"When he's playing the way he is right now, it's fun to watch," Marchand said. "It's fun to be on the ice with him."

Tavares' 25th pulled the Islanders within two with about 5 1/2 minutes remaining. Marchand capped the scoring with his 20th, an empty-netter with just over a minute to go.

Boston took control with two goals in the second period and sealed it with two more in the third.

Spooner put Boston ahead 2-1 near the midpoint of the second. Off a faceoff in the Islanders' zone to Halak's left, Spooner backhanded the puck past the goalie for his seventh at 9:47.

Just 15 seconds after New York's Anders Lee was sent off for tripping, Bergeron got the puck on the right side after Torey Krug's shot went off Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech's leg and beat Halak with 6:11 left in the middle period. Krug got his 200th career point on the play.

"They got a break on the second goal," New York coach Doug Weight said. "The (power-play goal) slapped us in the face and we got away from our game. We got frustrated in the third (period)."

Eberle gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead 7:35 into the game when he beat Khudobin for his 15th. Mathew Barzal got his 32nd assist and 48th point on the play - both tops among all NHL rookies.

The Bruins tied it with 6:19 left in the first when Bergeron fired it past Halak from the inside edge of the right circle.

NOTES: Barzal has eight assists and 11 points in the last five games. ... Islanders F Josh Bailey, headed to his first All-Star game, returned to the lineup after missing four games with a lower-body injury. He had an assist on Tavares' goal. ... The Bruins swept the three-game season series, also winning 3-1 at home on Dec. 9 and 5-1 in New York on Jan. 2. ... Boston has won seven straight on the Islanders' home ice since a 3-1 loss at Nassau Coliseum on Nov. 2, 2013. That includes five visits to Barclays Center, the Islanders' home since the start of the 2015-16 season. ... Bergeron has nine goals and 14 points in his last eight games. ... Marchand, the Bruins' leader in goals, assists and points, has five goals and nine assists in his last seven games.

UP NEXT

Bruins: At Montreal on Saturday to wrap a two-game trip.

Islanders: At Chicago on Saturday to open a three-game road trip heading into the All-Star break.

Severson scores 2 as Devils beat Islanders, end 6-game skid

By VIN A. CHERWOO
AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Nearly three weeks after the Devils' last victory, Damon Severson didn't want to say his team was getting desperate. He did acknowledge they needed a win.

Severson scored twice 1:26 apart in New Jersey's three-goal second period, and the Devils ended a six-game skid with a 4-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.

"We really wanted to get back on track and find a way to start winning more games," Severson said. "Two points is what counts at the end of the day. This one felt good and hopefully we can get on the right track now."

Kyle Palmieri and Taylor Hall also scored for New Jersey, which was 0-3-3 since beating Detroit at home on Dec. 27. Keith Kinkaid, getting the start after Cory Schneider was a late scratch due to illness, stopped 25 shots.

"It's a relief to get two full points," Kinkaid said after making just his second start since Dec. 9. "We played a hell of a game, defensively and offensively. We never let off the gas."

Anders Lee scored and Jaroslav Halak made 38 saves as the Islanders snapped a three-game winning streak that started with a 5-4 shootout victory over the Devils here on Jan. 7.

"They've been off for a couple of days, we've had a real hard couple of games," New York coach Doug Weight said. "It's tough, but teams go through it. We were mentally tired early and didn't do a great job managing the game."

New Jersey trailed less than two minutes in but got four straight goals starting with Palmieri's score late in the first period.

Halak, who faced more than 35 shots on goal for his 10th straight start, made nice stops on in-close tries by Brian Boyle and Brian Gibbons with about 7 1/2 minutes left in the middle period to keep the score tied.

However, Severson gave the Devils the lead about 30 seconds later as he got the rebound of a shot by Gibbons and beat Halak from the right circle. It was the defenseman's fifth goal of the season and first in 12 games.

Severson doubled the Devils' lead on a one-timer from the deep center point near the blue line off a pass from Ben Lovejoy with 5:36 remaining.

"I wasn't really expecting the puck overall because I was telling Lovejoy `no don't pass it' because I saw their forward, and then right before he passed it I was, OK, yeah, he's got that space," Severson said.

Hall made it 4-1 with his team-leading 16th with 1:40 left.

Kinkaid, a Long Island native who grew up an Islanders fan in Farmingville, New York, beat them for the first time in his career. He came in 0-3-2 with a 3.19 goals-against average in six games against the Islanders.

"It's fun getting a win against your hometown team," Kinkaid said. "I'm sure I'm going to get a few texts from a few buddies."

Lee got the Islanders on the scoreboard 1:39 into the game. It marked the second straight game New York scored on its first shot and within the opening two minutes. Anthony Beauvillier did it in the Islanders' 5-4 overtime win at Montreal on Monday night.

The Devils took over from there.

New Jersey tied it on the power play with 4:40 left in the opening period as Palmieri beat Halak with a one-timer from the left circle for his eighth.

The Islanders' Brock Nelson and New Jersey captain Andy Greene tussled briefly in front of the Devils' net as time expired in the first. It was the first NHL fight for each.

NOTES: New York has been outshot 493-374 in the last 12 games, with Halak starting 10. That includes the 56 faced by Thomas Greiss against the Canadiens. ... New York lost for just the second time in 18 games when scoring the first goal. ... The teams play two more times - both in New Jersey - on Feb. 24 and March 31. ... Hall extended his points streak to five games with four goals and five assists in the stretch. ... New Jersey improved to 17-0-2 when leading after two periods.

UP NEXT:

Devils: Host Metropolitan Division-leading Washington on Thursday night.

Islanders: Host Boston on Thursday night before a three-game trip heading into the All-Star break.

Tavares' 2nd goal lifts Islanders paat Canadiens 5-4 in OT

Associated Press

MONTREAL (AP) -- John Tavares got a second chance in overtime and made the most of it.

The Islanders' captain was robbed on a spectacular save by Carey Price but got the puck back and made no mistake to give New York a 5-4 victory despite being outshot 56-24 by the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night.

"That first one was a heck of a save," Tavares said of a close-range shot that Price swung out a leg to stop. "He's arguably the best goalie in the league.

"I had a chance to play with him before and seen his talent firsthand, so you know you have to be at your best and you can't take any opportunity for granted. I tried not to quit. I stayed with it and I'm glad I got an opportunity and put it in."

Tavares also had a goal in regulation as the Islanders won their third straight after a season-high five-game losing streak. More eye-catching was Mathew Barzal, coming off his second five-point game of the season in a win at the Rangers two days earlier, had a goal and two assists to give him 10 points in the last three games.

"During the season there are ups and downs," Barzal said. "There are times when you feel you're never going to score again and times when everything's going in.

"Hopefully I can just ride it for a while."

Anthony Beauvillier and Adam Pelech also scored for the Islanders, and Thomas Greiss finished with a career-high 52 saves.

Nicolas Deslauriers, Paul Byron, Jonathan Drouin and Max Pacioretty scored for Montreal, which twice tied the scored after falling behind by two goals. Price stopped 19 shots as the Canadiens fell to 2-0-2 in their last four games.

"I thought we were the better team," said Montreal coach Claude Julien. "They scored three goals on (their first) 10 shots, but we showed character in coming back.

"It's disappointing we didn't get the two points, but we got six points out of the last eight and if we keep going like that we'll be back in the race."

Pelech gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead 2:37 into the second period as he pounced on a loose puck after Barzal's shot was blocked and swept it in fromt eh slot for his first of the season.

After the Canadiens turned the puck over on a blind, backhand pass by Alex Galchenyuk, Tavares scored on a short-handed breakaway at 5:36 to give the Islanders their second two-goal lead.

For the second time this season, Montreal lost a power-play goal to the "skate in the air" offside call after a video review showed Byron's skate a millimeter or two off the ice before Schlemko scored at 12:19.

Drouin banged in a rebound of Jakub Jerabek's shot with 44 seconds left in the second for his first goal in 14 games since Nov. 29.

Pacioretty, with a goal in a fourth straight game, tied it 4-4 on a power play as he tipped in Jeff Petry's point shot with just under 7 minutes remaining in regulation.

"I don't feel I'm doing anything different," Pacioretty said of his scoring streak. "I got a couple of bounces and that's the way it goes some times.

"I feel I've been playing some good hockey for some time now and now I've got to keep going like this."

Montreal owned the puck in the opening minute, but when Barzal got it, he set up Beauvillier for a goal on the Islanders' first shot on Price 1:24 into the game.

Barzal then raced down the right side and put a shot over Price's left shoulder at 6:29 to make it 2-0. The rookie scoring leader now has three goals and seven assists in his last three games.

Deslauriers was alone on the doorstep to beat Greiss at 8:01 to pull the Canadiens within one, Jerabek picked up his first NHL point on the play.

Byron took the rebound of David Schlemko's shot off the end boards to tie the score with 7:50 remaining in the opening period.

NOTES: The Canadiens were without centers Phillip Danault (concussion) and Andrew Shaw (lower body), who were both injured in Saturday's shootout loss to Boston. Daniel Carr and Byron Froese returned to the lineup. ... The Canadiens claimed C Logan Shaw off waivers from Anaheim. He will join the team Tuesday in Boston. ... Barzal was coming off a two-goal, three-assist game in the Islanders' 7-2 win at the New York Rangers on Saturday. ... The Islanders were missing six injured regulars - forwards Josh Bailey, Nikolai Kulemin, Andrew Ladd and Casey Cizikas, and defensemen Calvin de Haan and Johnny Boychuk.

UP NEXT

Islanders: Host New Jersey on Tuesday night.

Canadiens: At Boston on Wednesday night.

Barzal, Beauvillier lead Islanders to 7-2 win over Rangers

By VIN A. CHERWOO
AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP) – Mathew Barzal was terrific and Jaroslav Halak stepped up at a couple of key moments.

It was the Islanders' day again in New York.

Barzal had two goals and three assists, Beauvillier added two goals and an assist, and the Islanders beat the Rangers 7-2 on Saturday for their ninth win in the last 10 meetings of the crosstown rivals.

Shane Prince, Thomas Hickey and Cal Clutterbuck also scored, helping the Islanders to the victory in both teams' first game after their respective five-day byes. Jordan Eberle had four assists in the Isles' highest scoring game of the season, and Halak stopped 37 shots.

"Just one of those nights where everything kind of finds its way into the back of the net," said Barzal, who leads NHL rookies with 29 assists and 44 points. "It was a great team effort honestly."

The Islanders won their second straight after a season-high six-game losing streak, and coach Doug Weight credited Halak's play, especially early in the third period when the Rangers picked up their intensity.

"When they were blitzing us ... he came up with big save after big save in a four- to five-minute span and kind of defeated them a little bit," Weight said. "Those are the flurries, those are the saves he was absolutely in charge of his game."

Kevin Hayes and Mika Zibanejad scored for the Rangers, who have lost three of four. Ondrej Pavelec was pulled in the second period after giving up five goals on 19 shots, and Henrik Lundqvist finished with 16 saves.

"Mostly I am just disappointed. ... Points mean a lot right now," Lundqvist said. "We have to regroup here because it's another big one tomorrow (at Pittsburgh). I think the biggest thing right now is not trying to find an answer in everything. You just have to go to yourself right now, try to play your best game to try to help the group, and not figure out everything."

The Rangers had a two-man advantage for 18 seconds about seven minutes into the third, but came up empty.

Zibanejad, standing on the left doorstep, then redirected Mats Zuccarello's shot from the left circle past Halak for his 14th goal, making it 5-2 at 9:05. Zuccarello got his 200th career assist on the play.

Hickey restored the Islanders' four-goal lead when his centering pass to Beauvillier from the right side deflected in off Zuccarello's skate with 3:52 left. Clutterbuck made it 7-2 with his eighth of the season and fourth goal in the last four games with 1:05 remaining.

"I was really impressed with our lineup right through," Weight said "It was an excellent win."

The Islanders grabbed control with four straight goals after Hayes tied it at 1 at 14:25 of the first.

Prince scored his first goal of the season two minutes after Hayes' power-play goal. The Isles then scored three more in the second.

Barzal made it 3-1 just 37 seconds into the period on a backhander past Pavelec and into the top right corner. He then scored his 15th of the season when he knocked in the rebound of his own shot at 4:11.

Beauvillier got his second of the game and seventh of the season when he beat Pavelec from the left circle at 6:51. The Rangers then pulled Pavelec and sent in Lundqvist, drawing cheers from the crowd and chants of "Hen-rik! Hen-rik!"

NOTES: LW Michael Dal Colle made his NHL debut for the Islanders. ... Injured forwards Josh Bailey, selected to his first All-Star appearance earlier in the week, and Andrew Ladd were out of the Islanders' lineup for the second straight game. ... Islanders F Casey Cizikas left with an upper-body injury in the second period. Weight said Cizikas' status was "not great" and he would not travel with the team to Montreal. ... The Islanders won 4-3 in a shootout at MSG on Oct. 19. The teams play two more times - both at Barclays Center - on Feb. 15 and April 5. ... The Rangers scored a power-play goal for the third time in five games, but are just 3 for 30 over their last 10 games.

UP NEXT

Rangers: At Pittsburgh on Sunday night.

Islanders: At Montreal on Monday night.

---

Follow Vin Cherwoo at www.twitter.com/VinCherwooAP

---

More AP NHL: www.apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

Islanders down Devils 5-4 in shootout

By ALLAN KREDA
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) -- The struggling Islanders desperately needed a boost and thanks to rookie Sebastian Aho, they received a lift heading into their bye-week break.

The 21-year-old Swedish defenseman scored his first NHL goal with his team down two scores in the third period, then assisted on the tying goal by Cal Clutterbuck before the Islanders won in the shootout, 5-4 over the New Jersey Devils 5-4 on Sunday to snap a five-game skid.

"There's no panic in his game. He's come in with a lot of poise," Islanders captain John Tavares said of Aho, a fifth-round draft pick by the Islanders last June who was playing in his third game. "Over the course of a season, we need everybody to make contributions."

Brock Nelson scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Islanders (21-18-4) their first win since Dec. 27. Nelson beat Devils netminder Cory Schneider in the fifth round.

The Devils had a grand chance to win in overtime when Tavares was assessed a tripping penalty halfway through, but New Jersey did not register a shot on goal.

Jaroslav Halak made 42 saves for the Islanders, who were badly outplayed over their five-game stretch of losses in which they were outscored 25-8 and didn't register a point.

The Devils (22-11-8) lost their fifth straight before both teams start a league-mandated five-day break. Two of the five losses have come in shootouts and one in overtime.

"When you have a two-goal lead, you've got to learn to lock it down," Devils coach John Hynes said. "Little things make a difference."

Clutterbuck and Aho tied the game after Miles Wood and Taylor Hall had given the Devils a 4-2 lead early in the third period.

Clutterbuck's tying score came at 15:43 after Aho narrowed the deficit to 4-3 with his first goal at 7:58. Aho's power-play goal was assisted by Tavares and Mathew Barzal, who leads all rookies with 26 assists.

"It's huge. It's a special moment," Aho said of his first goal. "I've been dreaming out it since I was a little boy."

Wood's 11th goal this season came at 2:41 of the third and snapped a 2-2 tie.

Hall made it 4-2 for the visitors at 3:18 with his 15th goal, after which Halak smashed his stick against the net in frustration.

Islanders coach Doug Weight credited his goaltender's burst of emotion for giving his team an extra jolt.

"Jaro was obviously excellent," Weight said. "Hopefully we will look back at this win. It was a really great effort by the guys."

Travis Zajac's fifth goal of the season and second of the game at 16:25 of the second came while the Devils were short-handed and tied the game at 2. It was the ninth short-handed goal allowed by the Islanders this season.

Zajac was perplexed and frustrated by the game's ultimate outcome.

"We can't hold leads these last five games," said the 32-year-old forward in his 12th season with the Devils.

Anthony Beauvillier put the Islanders ahead 2-1 with his fifth of the season at 10:44 of the second after Zajac scored his first of the game at 4:43 of the middle period.

The Devils came out flying and had a 15-1 shots advantage just six minutes into the game - and outshot the home team 21-10 overall in the first - but it was the Islanders who scored first when Anders Lee knocked a rebound past Schneider for his 25th goal at 15:28.

The Islanders were without injured forwards Josh Bailey and Andrew Ladd for the first time this season. Both were hurt during Friday's 4-0 dismal home loss to Pittsburgh. Bailey with Tavares and Lee combined for 57 points in December, making the trio the highest scoring line in the league.

The Islanders also continued to miss key defensemen Johnny Boychuk and Calvin de Haan. Boychuk has been out for the past six games while de Haan hasn't played since suffering a shoulder injury in an overtime win over the Los Angeles Kings on Dec. 16.

"We found a way in the third period," Halak said. "We need to get back after the break and start playing Islander hockey."

Alan Quine took Bailey's place on right wing on the team's top line with Tavares at center and Lee on the left.

Despite missing a litany of top players, Weight was heartened by his squad's compete level, especially when trailing in the third with a sixth straight loss less than five minutes away.

"We played the right way," Weight added. "I think we tired them out. They are a fast team but we generated a lot of offense. This was a big one for us heading into the break."

NOTES: The Devils are 11-2-8 in one-goal games. ... The teams meet again at Barclays Center on Jan. 16, then in Newark on Feb. 24 and March 31. ... The Devils played with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, scratching forwards Drew Stafford, Jimmy Hayes and Stefan Noesen. ... The Islanders scratched defenseman Dennis Seidenberg.

UP NEXT

Devils: Next Saturday at home against Philadelphia.

Islanders: Next Saturday afternoon at Rangers.

Bruins score 3 in third, pull away to beat Islanders 5-1

By CHRISTIAN ARNOLD
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) -- Patrice Bergeron and Tuukka Rask helped the Boston Bruins keep up their winning ways to start the new year.

Bergeron had the go-ahead goal in the second period and the surging Bruins scored three times in the third to pull away for a 5-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Tuesday night. Tuukka Rask stopped 25 shots as Boston improved to 7-0-2 in their last nine, the longest streak of games with at least a point this season.

Danton Heinen, Brad Marchand, Tim Schaller and Noel Acciari also scored for the Bruins,

"We knew it was coming this year," Marchand said. "We had a lot of injuries and we knew we just needed some time to come together a bit, but you see the way some young guys are stepping up. It just seems like everyone is connecting. Every line has that chemistry."

Jordan Eberle had New York's goal and Jaroslav Halak finished with 33 saves as the Islanders lost their third straight. Josh Bailey was held without a point, ending his career-high streak at 11 games.

New York was 5-8-2 in December and the latest loss pushed the Islanders out of a playoff position with Carolina picking up a point in a shootout loss to Washington and having a game in hand.

"Adversity is hitting us between the eyes right now as a group, as a staff, as players," Islanders coach Doug Weight said. "We've got to find a way. If you're going to use words like flat or a little sluggish at times in the second or third it's concerning, but it's not going away.

"We have three really big games and we have to figure it out."

After being outshot 12-9 in the first period, the Bruins held the Islanders to just 14 shots through the final 40 minutes and beat them for the second time in two meetings this season.

"We just tried to stick to our game plan and our systems," Boston's Sean Kuraly said. "Be quick through the neutral zone and hold onto pucks down low, and be a good puck possession team. I think for most of the game we did that."

It was a fluky goal from Bergeron that put the Bruins ahead 2-1 in the second. A centering pass to Marchand took a funny deflection right to Bergeron on the side of the net and the Bruins' forward banked it in off Halak at 8:28. Marchand got his 200th career assist on the play.

Marchand then got his 16th goal at 9:04 of the third after the Islanders turned over the puck and David Pastrnak led an odd-man rush to make it 3-1.

Schaller deflected the puck out of the air to give the Bruins a three-goal lead with just under five minutes left in the game, and Accaiari added an empty-netter with 2:13 remaining.

"We know they're down a few guys, so you have to force those young kids to make plays," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "I don't think we turned it over much. If we did we reloaded pretty well. That was a bit of the game plan, force them to break out and go 200 feet.

"When we get buzzing we're a decent forechecking team. We have some heavy lines and even our skilled lines are good at handling the puck."

The Bruins extended their record to 12-1-2 in their last 15 contests against Eastern Conference opponents.

Boston opened the scoring with a goal off a draw in the middle of the first period. Riley Nash won the faceoff and the puck went right to Heninen, who fired the puck past Halak at 8:17.

Eberle evened the score just over a minute later after he forced a turnover in front of the net and slid the puck past the extended leg of Rask for his 14th.

NOTES: The NHL announced Tuesday that Rask was named first star for December and Bailey was the second star. ... The Bruins scratched forwards Anders Bjork and Paul Postma and defenseman Frank Vatrano. ... Forward Tanner Fritz made his NHL debut against Boston after the Islanders called him up from the AHL on Monday. ... Forward Alan Quine and defenseman Dennis Seidenberg were scratched for New York.

UP NEXT

Bruins: Host Florida on Thursday night.

Islanders: At Philadelphia on Thursday night.

Lindholm completes hat trick in OT as Ducks beat Isles 5-4

By ALLAN KREDA
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) -- On most nights, Hampus Lindholm is not a huge threat to score. But the Anaheim Ducks defenseman was in the right place three times Thursday.

Lindholm completed his first career hat trick with a goal 4:03 into overtime, and Anaheim snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-4 comeback victory over the New York Islanders.

"I had some room and a good shooting angle and it went in," the 23-year-old Lindholm said. "We really dug deep. It was good to get a win."

Ryan Miller made 22 saves for the Ducks, sending New York to its fourth loss in five games. It was the fourth win this season for the 37-year-old backup.

Anaheim tied the game with Miller pulled for an extra skater when Rickard Rakell scored at 18:45 of the third period. Brandon Montour and captain Ryan Getzlaf assisted. Getzlaf had four assists overall and has points in five games since returning from a facial fracture.

"It's always nice to have your big guys step up," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said.

Andrew Ladd put the Islanders ahead 4-3 at 7:52 of the third as they rallied from a 3-1 deficit. New York goalie Jaroslav Halak was shaky early but rebounded to finish with 35 saves.

"We had a lead with two minutes left," Islanders coach Doug Weight said. "We played a little timid early, trying not to make mistakes."

Ladd's rebound shot for his ninth goal beat Miller after Islanders captain John Tavares tied the game with his second goal of the night at 5:44 of the third. The goal was the 21st of the season for Tavares.

The Islanders trailed 3-1 late in the second when Tavares scored at 16:59.

Tavares wasn't happy with his team's defensive performance, including his own. He was on ice for three of Anaheim's goals.

"Giving up five goals is too many," he said. "We have to find a way to be better defensively, starting with myself. We're scoring enough goals. It's frustrating. We should have better results."

The Ducks led 2-0 after the first period on goals by Lindholm and Ondrey Kase.

After Islanders rookie sensation Mathew Barzal narrowed the deficit on the power play at 5:39 of the second, Lindholm scored again at 12:36.

A day after announcing future arena plans at Belmont Park, the Islanders lost their second straight at home. They are 10-3-3 at Barclays Center this season.

The game drew a crowd of 10,092. The Islanders are last in the NHL in attendance, averaging 11,475 through 16 home games.

Lindholm opened the scoring at 8:09 with assists by Andrew Cogliano and Getzlaf. The 30-year-old Cogliano has never missed a game in his NHL career, playing in 822 straight.

Kase made it 2-0 at 9:54 when his slot eluded Halak.

The Islanders came out with more jump in the middle period. Barzal narrowed the deficit to 2-1 on the power play, his ninth goal of the season. Josh Bailey and Tavares had assists.

Bailey has points in seven straight games, and Tavares has a six-game point streak. Both had three points in the game and share the team lead with 45.

Lindholm scored his second of the game at 12:36 of the second to make it 3-1 in favor of the Ducks.

The Islanders entered having allowed a league-high 3.5 goals per game. They have given up three or more in 10 of 12 games this month.

"We're not satisfied," Weight said. "We have to keep the confidence up."

Anaheim won the previous meeting 3-2 at home on Oct. 11.

Islanders forward Shane Prince made his season debut. Prince had ankle surgery in August and recently played four games with Bridgeport of the AHL.

The Ducks were coming off a 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden after losing 5-3 at New Jersey.

NOTES: Anaheim's leading scorer, Corey Perry, remained sidelined with a knee injury he sustained Dec. 11 at home against Carolina. ... The Islanders scratched forwards Alan Quine and Anthony Beauvillier, and defenseman Dennis Seidenberg. They were missing injured defenseman Calvin de Haan.

UP NEXT

Ducks: Finish their road trip Saturday afternoon at Pittsburgh before the Christmas break.

Islanders: Host the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday afternoon.

Red Wings beat homeward-bound Isles

NEW YORK -- The New York Islanders are expected to achieve a goal decades in the making Wednesday afternoon, when a press conference will be held on Long Island announcing the Islanders' owners have won their bid to build a new arena on the Nassau/Queens border.

Now an even bigger challenge awaits for the Islanders: Fixing one of the leakiest goaltending units in the NHL.

The Detroit Red Wings scored the final four goals Tuesday night as they overcame a drastic disadvantage in shots to beat the Islanders 6-3 at Barclays Center.

The Red Wings were outshot 37-22 but were playing on a particularly titled ice in the first two periods, when they were outshot 32-10, including 23-4 in the second. But Detroit managed to enter the second intermission in a 3-3 tie thanks to Anthony Mantha's goal with 4:45 remaining.

"A bit lucky for us, we (hadn't) played that great," said Red Wings center Henrik Zetterberg, who collected three assists to earn first star honors. "But we were in the game. Just wanted to go out and play a good 20 minutes and that's what we did and got two points."

Zetterberg assisted on Mantha's goal -- he missed a back-handed shot into a wide-open right corner of the net before Mantha put back the rebound -- as well as on Trevor Daley's game-winner with 9:57 remaining in the third.

The Red Wings added insurance goals when Mike Green scored with 5:48 left and Luke Glendening produced an empty-netter with 28.1 seconds remaining.

"There's no question about it, through the first two periods, really, I think we were fortunate to be in the game," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "I will say this, though: I thought we came out in the third and played great. I thought we really played hard. I thought we played to win. I thought we made a lot of plays. I thought we skated and I thought we won lots of puck battles."

Martin Frk and Gustav Nyquist scored in the first period for the Red Wings (13-13-7), who have won two straight following a hard-luck 11-game skid in which they went 1-5-5. Goalie Petr Mrazek, making his first start since Dec. 2, recorded 34 saves.

"We've played lots of really good games this year where we haven't won," Blashill said. "And this wasn't our best game, but we found a way to win. We have to do that also."

The seventh loss in the last 10 games for the Islanders (18-13-3) dampened the good mood of an announced crowd of 10,511 that arrived at Barclays hours after Newsday reported the franchise's owners won a bid to build a new arena at Belmont Park. A press conference announcing the move back to Long Island is scheduled for Wednesday.

The Islanders played at Nassau Coliseum from the club's inception in 1972 until moving to Brooklyn in 2015. But fans have been displeased by the longer commute to Barclays Center as well as the arena's poor hockey sight lines.

"A good note in, I think, a frustrating time," Islanders coach Doug Weight said. "I think it's great for the fans, it's great for the organization and everybody involved from the owners, they worked hard. Obviously I've heard what you heard and it feels like it's going to be good news."

The Islanders could certainly use some better news regarding their goaltenders. New York ranks second in the league in goals scored (121) and goals allowed (120).

Thomas Greiss, making his third straight start Tuesday, recorded 16 saves. Greiss and fellow co-starter Jaroslav Halak have combined for a save percentage of .871 in the last 10 games.

Weight, who has said the defensive struggles are a team-wide issue, continued to defend his goalies Tuesday night.

"Yes, I have confidence in my goalies, of course I do," said a curt Weight, who added he was "(ticked) off" about the Islanders' current predicament.

"They're going through a rough time now," Weight said. "It gets in your head and you feel like you cant give anything up."

Anders Lee, Ryan Pulock and Josh Bailey scored for the Islanders. Bailey, who has scored a goal in three straight games (five total) and recorded a point in six consecutive contests (11 points), was named the third star of the week by the NHL on Monday.

NOTES: The Islanders scratched C Shane Prince (conditioning stint) as well as D Thomas Hickey and C Alan Quine. ... Islanders D Calvin de Haan (shoulder) was placed on injured reserve Monday with an injury sustained in Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Kings. Newsday reported de Haan could miss the rest of the regular season. Hickey, who missed the previous four games with an upper-body injury, was activated in a corresponding move. ... The Red Wings scratched LW David Booth and D Xavier Ouellet. ... Red Wings G Petr Mrazek played a full game for the first time since Nov. 9.

Islanders host rested Red Wings

Stats, LLC

NEW YORK -- Two teams hoping to parlay some schedule certainty into sustained winning streaks will meet Tuesday night when the New York Islanders host the Detroit Red Wings at Barclays Center.

Both squads enter Tuesday having enjoyed multiple days off since winning their most recent game. The Islanders overcame a two-goal first period deficit Saturday night to outlast the visiting Los Angeles Kings 4-3 in overtime. The Red Wings played their final home game before Christmas on Friday, when they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1.

For the Islanders (18-12-3), the win snapped a two-game losing streak and provided an encouraging start to a five-game homestand that bookends the NHL's holiday break. New York, which has won just three of its last nine games (3-5-1), took its first lead against the Kings on Anders Lee's goal with 3:16 remaining in regulation and survived a goal by Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar with 13 seconds left in the third to earn the win on Jordan Eberle's tally 1:54 into overtime.

"This is a huge win for us," Islanders head coach Doug Weight said afterwards. "The fashion we were able to do it, a little emotion coming back from an early deficit. You can carry this. Momentum goes so far, but this is a good feeling and we've got three home games coming up before Christmas."

The Islanders, who host the Anaheim Ducks (Thursday) and Winnipeg Jets (Saturday) before returning from the Christmas break for a date with the Buffalo Sabres (Dec. 27), will enter Tuesday tied with the New York Rangers for the two Eastern Conference wild card spots.

"I know as of late, it hasn't been the greatest, but we have a bit of a homestand here and we've played really well at home," Eberle said. "So we need to gather as many points as we can and start rolling. We've got, I believe, three more games until Christmas and we need six points."

The victory Friday by the Red Wings (12-13-7) snapped a three-game losing streak (0-1-2) and was just their second in the last 10 games (2-4-4). Detroit needed the spark heading out on an east coast road trip in which it will visit the Philadelphia Flyers (Wednesday) and Boston Bruins (Saturday) before Christmas and the New Jersey Devils (Dec. 27) following the holiday.

"I do think, especially as you get close to the Christmas holiday, it can be a little bit of an advantage to get on the road and just have that bunker mentality and away from some of the commitments you have when you're at home," Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill told the team's website.

A point-filled road trip is a near-necessity for the Red Wings, who fell six points behind the third-place Boston Bruins in the Atlantic Division with the Bruins' 7-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night.

"It was a good win against Toronto and we want to continue the things we're doing well," Red Wings left winger Justin Abdelkader told the team's website. "We want to start to bank away some more points and get back up in the playoff race."

Blue Jackets recover after blowing lead, KO Isles

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Columbus Blue Jackets gave away a three-goal lead but recovered by scoring twice in the second period and holding on for a 6-4 victory over the New York Islanders on Thursday night at Nationwide Arena.

Zach Werenski, Markus Nutivaara, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Seth Jones, Nick Foligno and Josh Anderson each had a goal to help keep the Blue Jackets (20-11-1) in first place in the Metropolitan Division.

Josh Bailey had a hat trick and Casey Cizikas added a goal for the Islanders (17-12-3), who played for the third time in four days. Captain John Tavares had three assists for New York, which was were coming off a 5-2 loss at home to the Dallas Stars one night earlier.

Oliver Bjorkstrand had three assists, and Artemi Panarin and Wennberg two each for the Blue Jackets. Panarin has 12 points, including 10 assists, in the past seven games.

Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky picked up the win despite giving up four goals in the game and nine in his past two starts. He finished with 21 saves.

After the Blue Jackets were embarrassed on Tuesday night in a 7-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, they appeared to be releasing their frustration after jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first period.

But the Islanders rallied with three straight goals in the second to tie it. The Blue Jackets responded with two goals to end the period and reclaim the lead.

Bailey scored two of his three goals in the second, including one that tied it.

Jones' fourth goal of the season off a setup pass from Cam Atkinson put the Blue Jackets back in front at 15:03 of the second, and Foligno expanded the lead with a shot inside the post after taking a pass from Bjorkstrand.

Bailey's third goal pulled the Islanders within one goal at 7:11 of the third period. They pulled goalie Thomas Greiss inside the final two minutes, but Anderson sealed the outcome with an empty-netter with one second left.

Greiss made 29 saves for the Islanders.

The Blue Jackets opened a 1-0 lead less than four minutes into the game. Werenski was the beneficiary of a setup pass from Panarin that he one-timed past Greiss for his 10th goal of the season.

Less than three minutes later, it was 2-0 after Nutivaara scored his second goal of the season. He crashed the net after the puck bounced in the air off Greiss' pads and knocked it home.

The Blue Jackets expanded their lead at 15:52 of the first when Dubois lifted a long rebound from between the circles past Greiss.

NOTES: Blue Jackets F Brandon Dubinsky will miss six to eight weeks with a fractured orbital bone suffered during a fight near the end of Tuesday night's game against the Edmonton Oilers. Dubinsky leads the team in faceoff wins. ... Columbus called up C Jordan Schroeder from AHL Cleveland and put him on the fourth line. ... C Alan Quine replaced LW Anthony Beauvillier on the Islanders' fourth line. ... Blue Jackets D Ryan Murray remains sidelined with an upper-body injury. He has missed the past eight games but is skating again. ... Islanders G Thomas Greiss started for the first time since he gave up six goals against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Dec. 5. Greiss entered Wednesday night's game in the second period after G Jaroslav Halak was pulled. ... D Jack Johnson became just the third defenseman to play in 400 career games with the Blue Jackets. ... Islanders F Jason Chimera has the longest current consecutive games streak in the NHL at 220. Teammate Jordan Eberle is second with 182 straight games.

Lehtonen's milestone lifts Stars past Islanders

NEW YORK -- As the final seconds ticked off the clock Wednesday night, Dallas Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen smiled behind his mask and allowed himself to soak in the accomplishment of joining a select NHL fraternity.

Lehtonen became the 33rd goalie in NHL history to record 300 career wins Wednesday night, when he carried a shutout into the third period and recorded 32 saves as the Stars cruised past the New York Islanders 5-2 at Barclays Center.

"Last minute, little smile, I had a little smile going on," Lehtonen said. "Just enjoying the moment. It was cool."

The grin surely grew as the buzzer sounded and Lehtonen was surrounded by teammates -- including fellow Stars goalie Ben Bishop, who came out from the seats directly behind the net, where the visiting backup goalie perches, and gave Lehtonen a hearty slap on the shoulder.

"It's awesome, we wanted to get that win for him," said Stars center Tyler Pitlick who scored two goals. "That's a pretty big accomplishment for him and his family as well."

Lehtonen was still savoring the moment a few minutes later when he wore most of his uniform and smiled throughout an interview session at his locker.

"It's nice to be up there, that's a big number for a goalie," Lehtonen said. "Never really thought I'd get that."

Lehtonen is the sixth active goalie to reach 300 wins and the second to do so in as many nights. Carolina Hurricanes netminder Cam Ward recorded his 300th victory Tuesday in a 3-2 shootout win over the Vegas Golden Knights.

Lehtonen and Ward were each selected in the first round of the 2002 draft. Lehtonen was picked second by the then-Atlanta Thrashers, for whom he played the first five seasons of his career. Ward was picked 25th by the Hurricanes.

"We came into the league at the same time, we're good friends," Lehtonen said. "Our last couple of years, we've been pretty much tied in games played and the wins. It was fun that we both got to 300."

The 624th appearance of Lehtonen's career -- Ward has played in 10 more games -- was notable long before the victory was secure. By playing Wednesday night, Lehtonen broke a tie with Miikka Kiprusoff for the most games played by a Finnish-born goaltender.

The Islanders appeared determined to make that the only milestone Lehtonen reached during a first period in which they peppered him with 15 shots.

After Pitlick opened the scoring 7:37 into the game, Lehtonen made a pair of impressive saves during a minute-long span. He sprawled to his right to make a pad save of a John Tavares shot and turned back a point-blank redirect by Anthony Beauvillier.

"It's a huge moment for him, but man, he was good tonight," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. "He had to earn it tonight. He had to work. This is one that you've got to look and say your goalie was your best player."

Remi Elie and Jamie Benn scored for the Stars in the second period to chase Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak. Pitlick scored 21 seconds into the third for Dallas (18-13-1), which has won the first two games of a four-game Eastern Conference road trip.

Anders Lee ended Lehtonen's shutout bid 45 seconds after Pitlick's second goal before adding another goal with 3:32 left for the Islanders (17-11-3), who have lost four of five (1-3-1).

"(A) 5-2 loss, that five really stings," Lee said. "I think it felt a lot worse than it really was. They just capitalized on their opportunities. We did have some opportunities. You've got to give credit to Kari on the other side, he played a great game."

Halak made 16 saves.

"It's frustrating," Islanders coach Doug Weight said. "We're all frustrated. I'm sure (Halak) is, too. We want to get a roll together."

Thomas Greiss stopped six of the seven shots he faced in relief.

NOTES: The Stars outscored the Islanders 10-2 in sweeping the two-game season series. ... Stars RW Alexander Radulov was pulled with an undisclosed injury in the third period. Coach Ken Hitchcock said Radulov would be examined by team doctors Thursday morning. ... The Stars scratched LW Antoine Roussel (elbow) as well as C Jason Dickinson and D Jamie Oleksiak. ... The Islanders scratched C Shane Prince (conditioning stint) as well as C Alan Quine and D Dennis Seidenberg. ... Islanders D Johnny Boychuk returned to the ice after missing three games with a lower-body injury.

Isles top Caps to snap skid

NEW YORK -- There's nothing easy about the commute to Barclays Center for the New York Islanders. But for the Islanders players who live on Long Island, getting to Monday's game by navigating traffic along the New York-area highways or dealing with the train felt like vacation compared to what they went through last week.

Brock Nelson scored just 2:36 into the first period Monday night to give the road-weary Islanders a lead they would never relinquish in a 3-1 win over the Washington Capitals at Barclays Center.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Islanders (17-10-3), who came back early Sunday morning from a 1-2-1 road trip in which they never left the Eastern time zone yet arrived home feeling as drained as they would from a cross-country trek.

"For an Eastern Conference road trip, that week felt like three for some reason," New York captain John Tavares said. "We just seemed flat those last couple of games."

The Islanders opened the trip with a 5-4 shootout win over the Florida Panthers before falling to Tampa Bay (6-2), Pittsburgh (4-3 in overtime) and Boston (3-1). The real exhaustion set in during a delayed trip back from Boston through the season's first snowstorm following Saturday's game.

"We had a tough time getting back from Boston," left winger Andrew Ladd said. "I felt it played a role in terms of how we felt yesterday morning."

Ladd, who has played 551 of his 877 career games in the far-flung Western Conference, grinned and said the recent trip was nothing like those he experienced earlier in his career.

Even head coach Doug Weight, who played 990 games for Western Conference teams, noticed his players dragging during and after the trip.

"Florida, Tampa Bay, Pitt, Boston, it shouldn't be a bone-crushing, terrible four-game trip -- we sound like spoiled Easterners, but I think we all felt it," Weight said. "I think I heard it from a lot of guys coming back that didn't think they were going to feel that way. They're not a group that comes in and says 'I'm tired' so they don't have to skate or beg for days off. It was good to have a day off (Sunday)."

Nelson's goal provided a much-needed spark for the Islanders, who allowed the opponent to score first in each of the previous five games. New York opened the second in even quicker fashion when Ladd and Tavares scored in a 58-second span within the first two minutes to chase Capitals goalie Braden Holtby.

"You look at all the goals, they came early in the periods," Washington head coach Barry Trotz said. "I thought they came out a little bit better than us. I thought they were just a little quicker early."

The Capitals ended the shutout bid of Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak (31 saves) when Dmitry Orlov scored 8:23 into the third. But Washington didn't mount another serious challenge, even after pulling Philipp Grubauer with a little less than three minutes remaining.

"Just coming home, I think being in our own bed and (getting) some home-cooked food just seemed to do the trick," Tavares said.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Capitals (19-11-1), who fell into a tie for second in the Metropolitan Division with the Islanders. The two teams are two points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Washington has won seven of its last nine games (7-2-0).

"Everyone knows we didn't really have our best game tonight, so that's a bit of a wakeup call," Capitals right winger Tom Wilson said. "We know them very well, they played us hard, they played us smart. We didn't seem to have the legs in order to compete against them tonight."

Holtby made nine saves while Grubauer stopped all 17 shots he faced.

NOTES: The Islanders scratched D Johnny Boychuk (lower body), who missed his third straight game, as well as C Shane Prince and C Alan Quine. ... Prince, who has been out all season with an ankle injury, was activated Sunday and loaned to Bridgeport of the AHL on a conditioning assignment. In a corresponding transaction, D Thomas Hickey (upper body) was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to Saturday. ... The Capitals scratched RW T.J. Oshie (upper body), who missed his third consecutive game, as well as D Taylor Chorney. ... Capitals G Braden Holtby was lifted from a game for the third time this season. He was pulled in the second period of a 6-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 26, and yanked after two periods of a 6-3 loss to the Nashville Predators on Nov. 14.

Penguins prevail in OT vs. Isles

PITTSBURGH -- His team had given up a two-goal lead in the third period and he was feeling some fatigue during a long shift in overtime, so Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Matt Hunwick was relieved in more ways than one when he scored.

Hunwick slipped the puck past the right skate of New York Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak 1:29 into the extra session to give the Penguins a 4-3 win Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena.

Hunwick's third goal of the season and first in overtime in his career came after Bryan Rust drove through the crease with the puck. A video review confirmed he did not interfere with Halak.

The play started down the ice.

"I saw one of their guys changing, so it was a chance to create a three-on-two," Hunwick said. "You hope you score there because if I had to go back down the ice and play (defense) again, I'd probably be pretty tired."

Hunwick was on the ice primarily because Justin Schultz, often an overtime choice for Pittsburgh, is hurt, but also because coach Mike Sullivan thought Hunwick deserved to be there.

"He can really skate," Sullivan said. "He's a mobile guy and there's a lot of ice out there. The guys that tend to have foot speed have an advantage. Matt's a guy we can use in that situation because of his mobility."

Pittsburgh's Jake Guentzel scored in the first period, and Jordan Eberle tied it in the second. After Phil Kessel and Riley Sheahan scored 32 seconds apart in the third period for a 3-1 Pittsburgh lead, New York's Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson answered for a 3-3 tie.

Kris Letang added two assists for the Penguins.

"We found a way to get one (point). We battled back in the end," Eberle said. "It was a good road game. Going into the third with a 1-1 game, they make it 3-1 and we battled back. It was a weird game (from) that aspect, but I guess you can salvage a point and be happy about that."

The Penguins (16-11-3) pulled even with the Islanders (16-9-3), who began the night a point ahead of the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.

Pittsburgh has won five of six overall. It has a five-game home point streak (4-0-1) against the Islanders and is 7-1-1 against them in the past nine meetings at PPG Paints Arena.

Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry is 5-1-0 in his past six appearances after making 23 saves. Halak stopped 28 shots.

Jarry, a rookie filling in for injured No. 1 goaltender Matt Murray, got a close-up look at Pittsburgh's resilience after giving up the two-goal lead.

"In tough times the team comes together that much tighter," he said. "It's something they pride themselves on. They've taken pride in that the last couple years. That's a big thing, and that helps in overtime."

Pittsburgh put the puck in the net at 8:10 of the first, but it was immediately waved off because Guentzel got his glove on the puck, knocking it upward, and when it landed it trickled into the net before he could get his stick on it.

Guentzel got a goal that counted, a power-play version, at 12:17 of the first with a deft backward deflection just above the crease on a Letang slap shot from the right point for a 1-0 lead.

Eberle tied it at 5:53 of the second. As Jarry was trying to corral a loose puck in the crease with his glove, Eberle swooped in and jabbed it over the goal line.

A blast by Kessel from the left dot past Halak's glove at 7:29 of the third gave Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead and its second power-play goal. Sidney Crosby earned an assist, giving him an 11-game point streak (seven goals, 19 points) against the Islanders.

Sheahan, playing on his 26th birthday, scored his first since Nov. 16 after Halak went far out of his net to play the puck, scrambled back and was out of position when Sheahan roofed a shot for a 3-1 lead at 8:01 of the third.

Barzal swept it past Jarry from the slot at 15:07 of the third, the rookie's eighth goal and 27th point, to make it 3-2.

"That's a big goal," said Nelson, who followed by tying it with Halak pulled with 1:10 to go to send it to overtime. "We had a little bit of a push. We didn't have as many chances as we would like and that was a big-time goal to give us a little bit more momentum. We definitely fed off that. I think after that, we had a few good looks and could've won it there toward the end."

NOTES: Pittsburgh RW Tom Kuhnhackl left in the second period after a collision with teammate Ryan Reaves. There was no update on his status. ... New York C Casey Cizikas was activated from injured reserve and returned after missing four games because of a lower-body injury. ... Pittsburgh D Justin Schultz missed his first game because of a lower-body injury and was placed on IR. Coach Mike Sullivan indicated Schultz's absence could be a couple weeks. ... Pittsburgh D Frank Corrado was recalled from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton but did not dress. D Chad Ruhwedel dressed for the first time in four games.

Lightning overpower Islanders

TAMPA, Fla. -- They came in as the top two scoring teams in the NHL, but the Tampa Bay Lightning looked more like it Tuesday night.

The Lightning pulled away from the New York Islanders, scoring three goals in three minutes late in the second period on the way to a 6-2 victory at Amalie Arena.

Tampa Bay (19-6-2) saw a 2-0 lead disappear on a quick pair of Islanders goals in the second period, but answered in a big way.

Yanni Gourde scored twice in 94 seconds -- first a power-play goal with 3:38 left in the second, then an even-strength goal with 2:04 left -- for a 4-2 lead, and Vladislav Namestnikov added another goal four seconds into the next power play with 1:14 left in the period.

"Obviously, you want to be around the net. This is where you score goals," Gourde said. "I'm going to continue doing that. I think that's where most goals are scored."

New York (16-9-2) rallied back from a 2-0 deficit with two goals in less than two minutes. Rookie Mathew Barzal scored on his seventh goal of the season on the power play with 12:53 left, and had the assist on Jordan Eberle's 11th goal of the season with 11:02 remaining to tie the game.

"The only positive you can take from the game is that they're one of the best if not the best team in the league, and in the second period, it was completely flipflopped," Eberle said. "We know how we can play. We just need to do it for a full 60 minutes."

Tampa Bay jumped out to a 2-0 lead in a dominant first period, outshooting the Islanders 11-2. Brayden Point scored 34 seconds into the game for his 10th goal, and defenseman Andrej Sustr scored with 2:13 left in the first on his second goal of the season.

Chris Kunitz added a goal in the third period off a steal and breakaway for his fourth goal of the season, with 14 minutes remaining.

"We had a really good first, took our foot off the gas, but they're a really good team," Kunitz said. "They're going to capitalize on turnovers and chances.

Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss gave up six goals on 32 shots, while Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy (29 saves) picked up his NHL-high 18th win.

Two weeks ago, the Islanders had handed the Lightning a 5-3 loss in the same building, but John Tavares said his team was much more careful with the puck in that game.

"I felt like we managed the puck extremely poorly, turned it over a lot," Tavares said. "They're obviously a very good hockey team. They make plays, have some great shooters and they put pressure on you. We made it too easy for them."

Gourde recorded his seventh and eighth goals of the season and has four goals in two games against the Islanders, compared to four in 26 games against everyone else. The Lightning, who have the league's top power play, have power-play goals in seven straight games, going 4-for-8 in the last three.

New York, which had picked up a shootout win at Florida on Monday night, missed a chance for their second back-to-back sweep in seven chances this season. The Lightning dominated early and expected a strong second period from the Islanders, who dominated for 15 minutes but saw things slip away in the final minutes of the period.

"Thankfully, Yanni Gourde came to the rescue at the end of the second, gave us a big lift, and we took it home from there," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "He's always going against the Islanders. He plays with lots of energy and I thought that line was really good tonight, with (Cory) Conacher and (Alex) Killorn. They were hunting pucks, they were hounding, and they were rewarded."

Tampa Bay passed the Islanders for the league in goals with 100, one ahead of New York.

NOTES: Lightning D Braydon Coburn missed a second straight game with a lower-body injury, with RW J.T. Brown and D Jamie McBain as healthy scratches. ... The Islanders had D Dennis Seidenberg and D Thomas Hickey as healthy scratches. ... The Lightning continue a four-game homestand on Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche. ... The Islanders continue a four-game road trip Thursday at the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Barzal lifts Islanders in shootout

SUNRISE, Fla. -- New York Islanders rookie center Mathew Barzal wanted a chance at his first NHL shootout attempt ... so he did the only think he could think of -- he kept his eyes trained on his coach, Doug Weight.

Barzal's plan didn't work at first. Weight chose Jordan Eberle, who was stopped by goalie James Reimer, and John Tavares, who fell, got up and also got stuffed.

"Johnny (Tavares) slipped on a banana peel," Weight joked.

Finally, after three Florida Panthers had failed to score a shootout goal, Weight turned to Barzal, and the 20-year-old Canadian delivered, giving the Islanders a wild 5-4 win on Monday night at the BB&T Center.

"He wouldn't stop staring at me as I picked the first two guys," Weight said when asked why he chose Barzal. "I wouldn't look at him.

"He's a confident kid. He was excited. He wanted to get out there."

New York, which entered Monday with the highest-scoring offense in the NHL at 3.72 goals per game, took advantage of an injury to opposing goalie Roberto Luongo, who left in the second period due to an injury.

The Islanders, who have scored five or more goals 13 times in 26 games, provided great offensive support for goalie Jaroslav Halak, who made 39 saves.

New York (16-8-2) also got scores from Anders Lee, Thomas Hickey, Brock Nelson and Tavares. Lee's goal was No. 100 in his career.

Luongo, fourth in NHL history with 459 wins, was removed from the game with 17:29 left in the second period. He appeared to injure his right leg while making a kick save on a shot by Ryan Pulock.

Florida replaced Luongo, who had allowed just 18 goals in his past nine games, with backup Reimer, who inherited a 1-1 score and took the loss.

Reimer said losing Luongo was a tough blow emotionally.

"My first thought was that he was going to get up, and you hope it's just a minor tweak," Reimer said. "It's never fun when you see your partner go down. I'm hoping for the best for him, and, at the same time, you're trying to get yourself into the game."

The Panthers (10-13-4) got goals from Keith Yandle, Aaron Ekblad, Aleksander Barkov and Denis Malgin.

Panthers coach Bob Boughner, who said Luongo was "hobbling" after the game, said more will be known about the injury on Tuesday.

"It's a pretty traumatic thing," said Boughner, referring to the team's emotions following the loss of Luongo.

Early on, though, the Panthers were looking good.

Florida opened the scoring with 10:25 elapsed in the first period. Yandle pounced on a loose puck, unleashing a shot from the point that beat Halak glove-side.

The Islanders tied the score three minutes later. Lee grabbed a rebound off the end boards and beat Luongo between his pads.

There were five goals scored in the frantic third period.

Reimer had only been in for three minutes when he allowed a soft goal by Hickey, who shot the puck from the side boards. Reimer fought the fluttering puck and managed to block it before accidentally kicking it into his own goal with his right leg.

Florida surged back with its power play. After failing to score with a two-man advantage, the Panthers, still on a 5-on-4 power play, got a goal by Ekblad, who used a Jonathan Huberdeau screen to tie the score 2-2.

Barkov's power-play goal gave Florida a 3-2 lead, but New York closed the period with the goals by Nelson and Tavares, which came just two minutes apart.

Florida tied the score 4-4 with 5:06 expired in the third period. Vinny Trocheck won a puck battle along the end boards and passed the puck to Malgin, who scored from the slot.

That was the last puck that went in until Barzal got the call from Weight.

"I didn't have a move -- I just tried to read (Reimer)," Barzal said. "I got in tight, and I went to my backhand. I threw a couple of hesitations in there, but he didn't bite. I was lucky to get the backhand up."

If Barzal was lucky, Weight, 46, was relieved.

Asked about the emotional win, Weight muttered: "I'm too old for this."

NOTES: Islanders C Casey Cizikas (four goals, four assists) missed his third straight game due to a lower-body injury. ... Florida moved RW Nick Bjugstad to the top line, along with C Aleksander Barkov and LW Jonathan Huberdeau. Bjugstad replaces Evgenii Dadonov (shoulder), who is out at least four weeks. ... Panthers RW Denis Malgin, who played on the top line for the first two games after Dadonov was injured, has been moved to the second unit with C Vincent Trocheck and LW Jamie McGinn. ... Florida scratched LW Henrik Haapala, LW Dryden Hunt and D MacKenzie Weegar. ... The Islanders scratched D Dennis Seidenberg and D Scott Mayfield.

Isles rout Canucks 5-2

By DENIS P. GORMAN
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Coach Doug Weight knows his New York Islanders have shown they are a good team through the first part of the season.

He still sees room for improvement.

“We can get better,” Doug Weight said after the New York Islanders’ 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.

Calvin de Haan and Jordan Eberle scored goals one minute apart in the first period, Andrew Ladd, Anders Lee and John Tavares also scored goals for New York, and rookie center Mathew Barzal recorded the primary assist on Eberle’s goal.

Eberle now has goals in three straight games and recorded his 400th NHL point as New York improved to 15-7-2 overall and 8-0-2 at Barclays Center.

“It’s part of the learning curve in figuring out what we need to do, night in and night out to win hockey games or to give ourselves the best chance to win,” Ladd said. “We’ve done that the last little while.”

Jaroslav Halak made 22 saves for the Islanders.

Whereas the Islanders were brimming with confidence, the Canucks are looking for answers after dropping to 11-10-4 with its third straight loss, all to the three teams in the New York City area.

“It’s frustrating,” said Bo Horvat, who along with former Islander Thomas Vanek scored for the Canucks.

Anders Nilsson stopped 31 shots. “You’re not playing the way you have to be the last three games. It hurts in the standings. The division is so tight. And we need all the wins we can get.”

The game was the first NHL meeting for Barzal and Canucks rookie right winger Brock Boeser. Barzal entered the game with 23 points (six goals and 17 assists) in 23 games while Bowser had 22 points (11 goals and 11 assists) in 21 games. Barzal finished with an assist while Boeser did not record a point.

“I met him a couple years ago at the (draft) combine,” Barzal said of Boeser. “Really nice kid. Having a heck of a season so it was fun competing against him. He’s a heck of a player and hope he has a good season.”

For all intents and purposes, New York put the game away in the opening period as the Islanders went into the first intermission with a 3-1 lead, thanks to de Haan’s first of the year with 3:18 left in the period and Eberle’s 10th of the season exactly one minute later.

Instead of sitting on their two-goal lead, New York kept attacking in the second period, and it paid off when Lee scored his 13th of the season at 3:46. Vancouver cut the deficit in half on Horvat’s shorthanded goal at 6:33.

“It was 3-1 after the first and I didn’t think we played that bad. They second they dominated us,” Canucks defenseman Chris Tanev said. “We didn’t really push back.”

New York never trailed as Ladd opened the scoring with his 6th goal of the season on shorthanded breakaway at 5:16. Vanek tied the game with his sixth on the power play 58 seconds later with a tap-in.

Tavares’ goal 13:35 into the third ended the scoring.

New York outshot Vancouver, 36-24. The Canucks finished the game 1 for 2 on the power play, and killed all three Islanders power plays.

“They’re a good team. They create a lot with their speed and their skill and their defense being part of the attack,” Canucks coach Travis Green said of the Islanders, before assessing his team. “We had some guys who looked a little tired. We didn’t play quick enough. When you don’t play quick you don’t put yourself in positions to defend. You don’t take away time and space.

“We deserved to lose.”

NOTES: Daniel Sedin did not record a point and remains stuck on 998 for his career. His brother Henrik is the only player in Canucks history to record 1,000 points with the team. ... The game was the first against the Islanders for Travis Green as coach of the Canucks. Green, 46, played 388 games over six seasons for New York, recording 92 goals, 145 assists and 237 points. ... Anthony Beauvillier replaced Casey Cizikas as the center on New York’s fourth line. Cizikas suffered a lower body injury in the Islanders’ 2-1 win over the Senators Saturday night in Ottawa. The Islanders scratched defensemen Ryan Pulock and Dennis Seidenberg.

UP NEXT

Canucks: Conclude six game road trip Thursday night in Nashville.

Islanders: Host Ottawa Friday night.