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 The Canucks weren't dismayed by allowing the tying goal to Frans Nielsen with 1:12 left in regulation, and skated off with a win. Richardson flung the puck in front and it found its way past Nabokov on Vancouver's 33rd shot.
With Nabokov pulled, Nielsen fired the rebound of defenseman Andrew MacDonald's shot into the open left side of the net, past the outstretched glove of Roberto Luongo to tie it at 4.
Chris Higgins had given the Canucks their first lead of the game -- 4-3 -- with 17.2 seconds left in the second.
He scored off a feed from defenseman Kevin Bieksa, who took the puck away from Brock Nelson in the New York zone.
The Canucks played uphill all night, erasing an early 2-0 deficit in the first period and a 3-2 hole in the second. Ryan Kesler scored his fourth of the season to get Vancouver on the board, and Daniel Sedin tied it with his second 4:12 later.
Vancouver is 3-1-1 on its seven-game trip that has stops left in New Jersey and St. Louis. The Canucks even overcame a disallowed goal in the second period.
New York grabbed the lead just 2:26 in on Nelson's first NHL goal and went ahead 2-0 just 2:15 after that on the first of Matt Moulson's two power-play goals. Islanders captain John Tavares earned an assist to stretch his point streak to eight games, but New York finished its homestand 1-1-2.
Vancouver started its comeback 16 seconds later, taking advantage of a shaky Nabokov, who made 28 saves.
Moulson put New York back in front 4:48 into the second, but Henrik Sedin answered that one at 12:39.
The Islanders look ready to run the road-weary Canucks out of the Nassau Coliseum in Vancouver's first visit to Long Island since a shootout win on Jan. 11, 2011.
Cal Clutterbuck sent the puck behind the net from right-wing wall to Peter Regin, who carried it out by the left post and tried a jam shot. Nelson came to the right post and knocked in the rebound.
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New York struck again on its first power play after Higgins slashed Nielsen.
Tavares sent a pass down to Nielsen near the left post, and he moved the puck across the crease to Moulson, who was first denied by Luongo but then knocked in the rebound.
Islanders fans were still celebrating that one when Kesler cut the Canucks' hole in half. Defenseman Dan Hamhuis fired a long shot from inside the Islanders zone that Nabokov blocked with his chest but couldn't control. The puck bounced into the slot, and Kesler beat New York defenseman Andrew MacDonald to it and knocked it past Nabokov.
Nabokov wasn't any sharper a few minutes later when Jannik Hansen sent a pass from the right circle to Daniel Sedin in the left circle for a drive that sailed past the Islanders goalie to make it 2-2.
Luongo, the No. 4 pick in the 1997 NHL draft by the Islanders, found his game and made a pair of stellar saves to deny Moulson and Thomas Hickey to keep it tied before the intermission.
Only Moulson had the touch to beat him again, this time with Henrik Sedin serving a high-sticking penalty.
Moulson let go a wrist shot from the right circle that found its way over Luongo's glove and into the top right corner of net after a cross-zone passing play by Nielsen and Kyle Okposo.
Luongo made 28 saves.
NOTES: Luongo improved to 8-10-3 against the Islanders in 24 games, the same number he played for them in his one season before being traded to Florida. ... Islanders D Matt Donovan filled in for Lubomir Visnovsky, who is on the injured list because of a concussion. Nelson was in the lineup for speedy RW Michael Grabner, who served the first game of a two-game suspension for hitting Carolina forward Nathan Gerbe in the head on Saturday.
[Associated
Press; By IRA PODELL]
Copyright 2013 The Associated
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