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 Center Frans Nielsen scored twice in the third period to lead the
Islanders to a 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night in
front of 17,174 at the Honda Center.
Goalie Thomas Greiss made 24 saves for his fifth victory as the
Islanders (9-6-3) earned their second win in three games.
Before Friday night, New York had scored just 14 goals in its past
eight games, six of which were losses. But against Anaheim, the
Islanders amassed four goals for the second time in three contests.
"These last three games are a pretty good indication that we're
starting to find it," right wing Cal Clutterbuck said. "We're
breaking out of our zone better. Our defensemen are doing a good job
getting back for pucks and breaking out cleanly, and we're hanging
on to the puck goal line to goal line.
"We were trying to score on every touch instead of grind teams down.
But I think we're getting to the point now where we're playing well
from start to finish."
The Ducks (5-8-4) lost their third in a row after winning four
straight, and have allowed 12 goals in those three losses.
"We're playing with half a brain instead of with a whole brain,"
said goalie Anton Khudobin, who finished with 25 saves.
Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau believes his team still needs to
develop consistency.
"We've played good in pockets," Boudreau said. "We have two lines
going and two lines not going. We have three defensemen going and
three defensemen not going. Getting together and doing it all the
time at the same time is what we have to do."
The Islanders took a 1-0 lead in the first period when right winger
Brock Nelson converted a wrist shot from the slot off Khudobin's
glove for his fifth goal at 6:36.
New York expanded its lead to 2-0 in the second period on
Clutterbuck's fourth goal. Defenseman Johnny Boychuk's slap shot
from the right point ricocheted off Clutterbuck, who retrieved the
puck and shot it off Khudobin's left wrist at 9:35.
The Ducks narrowed their deficit to 2-1 less than two minutes later
by exploiting a 5-on-3 power play.
Islanders center Mikhail Grabovski received a tripping penalty at
9:55, followed by Boychuk's holding infraction at 10:36. Less than a
minute after Boychuk went to the penalty box, right winger Corey
Perry poked the puck off Greiss' chest from the left post at 11:23.
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Perry's fifth goal of the season also was the 301st of his career to
break a tie with Paul Kariya and move into second place on Anaheim's
career scoring list.
New York used Nielsen's two goals to secure the victory in the third
period. At 2:47, Nielsen converted a wrist shot from close range
after right winger Anders Lee began the scoring sequence by beating
Ducks defenseman Josh Manson to a bad pass along the left-wing
boards. Lee quickly passed to left winger Josh Bailey, who sent the
puck from the right circle to Nielsen.
The Danish center ended the scoring at 16:28, when he converted
another wrist shot off Lee's pass from the right circle.
NOTES: New York scratched LW Taylor Beck, D Marek Zidlicky and G
Jean-Francois Berube. Zidlicky needs one more game for 800 in his
career. .. .LW Josh Bailey entered Friday night's contest without a
point in his past seven games and without a goal in his previous
nine. He ended up with two assists Friday against the Ducks. ...The
Islanders' power play has converted once in 16 chances during the
past five games entering Friday night. ... Islanders assistant coach
Bob Corkum played for the former Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in their
first three seasons. The club chose Corkum in the 1993 expansion
draft. ... Anaheim scratched D Korbinian Holzer and C Mike
Santorelli. ... Ducks C Ryan Kesler needs two more games to reach
100 with the team. ... A legal representative for Ducks D Clayton
Stoner entered a guilty plea on his behalf in a Vancouver courtroom
Friday on charges of illegally killing a bear in 2013, reported the
Canadian Press, which added that neither Stoner nor his lawyer
appeared in court. The plea was part of a plea bargain. ... Ducks LW
Jiri Sekac will be out for at least two weeks after suffering a
sprained ankle Nov. 1 against Nashville, the club announced
Thursday.
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