Rookie goalie helps stop Islanders’ skid
Rookie goalie helps stop Islanders’ skid
After a sluggish start, the New York Islanders picked up their intensity in the second period and got a needed victory.
Brock Nelson and Matt Martin scored 21 seconds apart in the second and the host Islanders beat the Ottawa Senators 3-1 Wednesday night to snap a season-high four-game losing streak.
John Tavares also scored in New York’s three-goal second period, and rookie goalie Jean-Francois Berube, making just his fourth start, stopped 22 shots.
With starting goalie Jaroslav Halak out for at least the rest of the regular season, Greiss — a former Sharks backup who already has appeared in a career-high 35 games — is 1-4-1 with a 3.34 GAA in his absence.
Keith Yandle set up two first-period power-play goals and Henrik Lundqvist made 39 saves, sending visiting Boston to a season-high fourth straight loss.
Mats Zuccarello, Derek Stepan, Derick Brassard, J.T. Miller and Rick Nash scored for New York, which won its second straight and inched a little closer to securing a spot in the playoffs with eight games left in the regular season.
Tampa Bay forward Jonathan Drouin, the third player selected in the 2013 draft, is being disciplined in the minors once again — this time for missing a pre-practice team meeting.