Islanders' Halak shuts out Flames

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[October 27, 2015]  NEW YORK -- The New York Islanders managed to summarize their long weekend -- indeed, their entire season thus far -- in 60 minutes Monday night: A lot better at the end than at the beginning.

Goalie Jaroslav Halak recorded 29 saves in earning his second shutout of the season, and the red-hot Islanders pulled away from the Calgary Flames for a 4-0 victory at Barclays Center.

Center Mikhail Grabovski opened the scoring in the second period, and center Frans Nielsen, right winger Cal Clutterbuck and right winger Kyle Okposo all scored in the third period.

The win ends a four-day stretch for New York that began with a 5-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Friday -- the Islanders' first regulation loss at their new home. New York eked out a 3-2 overtime road win over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday before outlasting the skidding Flames on Monday.

"I think we still kind of gave away two points on Friday night, not happy with that effort," Clutterbuck said, "but we bounced back with two big wins. So overall, a pretty good weekend."

The win Monday earned the Islanders (6-2-1) a day off Tuesday -- a decent reward for a team that is 6-1-0 in past seven games following back-to-back losses to open the season against the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.

"Going to give them some time tomorrow to relax and get back at it on Wednesday," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "Boston, St. Louis, a couple heavy teams, and coming back here tonight against a good Calgary team -- I thought our guys handled it well."

A productive third period is becoming a theme for the Islanders, who have scored 16 of their 31 goals this season after the second period. New York has scored just five first-period goals and was held scoreless in the first 20 minutes Monday despite outshooting the Flames 14-8.

"I just think we're getting better as the game goes on," Clutterbuck said. "We've had a lot of chances in the first period, maybe a little snake-bitten. But I think we've done a good job of sticking with the program and playing well in the third periods."

The Islanders and Flames were locked in a scoreless duel for 34 minutes before Grabovski's goal with 5:59 left in the second infused some energy into an otherwise listless announced crowd of 11,582. Grabovski took a pass from center Josh Bailey, who was stationed along the left boards, and fired a shot under the right armpit of Flames goalie Joni Ortio.

Nielsen scored 5:26 into the third. Seven minutes later, the Flames mounted their most serious threat against Halak, but it ended with left winger Johnny Gaudreau's shot bouncing off Halak's pads.

Clutterbuck scored with 8:27 left, and Okposo's goal with 1:50 remaining handed the Flames their third loss of the season by four goals. Calgary lost two other games by three goals.

"In the third, we just weren't good enough," Flames defenseman Mark Giordano said "We started opening up, and that's when the game got away from us."

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For the Islanders, the three-goal third period was their third of the season. New York scored three unanswered third-period goals in a 6-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 17 and scored three times late in a 4-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 20.

"I think we've done a good job this year getting better as the games wore on," said center John Tavares, the Islanders' captain. "Today was not bad, but it was just one of those tight games early. We just stuck with it."

Halak has two shutouts despite making just four starts. He missed the first four games of the season due to an upper-body injury.

"We didn't want to rush him back," Capuano said. "Wanted to make sure his conditioning was where it needed to be, and it's paying dividends right now for us."

A change at goalie -- Ortio made 31 saves in his first start of the season -- didn't do much for the Flames (2-7-0), who have lost six of seven, including two in a row in New York. Calgary fell to the New York Rangers 4-1 at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night.

"We need to be consistent," Flames coach Bob Hartley said. "This league is too good to pick and choose when you're going to be good."
 


NOTES: Islanders D Thomas Hickey, who sustained a lower-body injury Saturday in a win over the St. Louis Blues, is expected to miss a month after being placed on injured reserve Monday morning. The team did not immediately make a corresponding roster move. ... The Islanders scratched RW Steve Bernier and G Jean-Francois Berube. ... C Ryan Strome started for the Islanders after being a healthy scratch Saturday. ... The Flames scratched D Jakub Nakladal and LW Mason Raymond. ... With G Joni Ortio making his first start, the Flames became the fourth team to start three goalies this season, joining the Islanders, Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators. ... The Flames cap a three-game road trip Wednesday at Ottawa.

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