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 The Islanders scored four third-period goals Monday -- including
three in a 12-minute span by center Brock Nelson, center John
Tavares and right winger Steve Bernier -- to pull away from the
Arizona Coyotes 5-2 at Barclays Center.
Center Frans Nielsen scored in the first period for the Islanders
(10-6-3), who will enter a three-day break with two straight wins
and three wins in their last four games (3-1-0). New York hosts the
Atlantic Division-leading Montreal Canadiens on Friday.
"When you lose a game, you almost want to play the next day,"
Nielsen said with a grin. "So, yeah, when you've got a couple days
(off), you definitely want to win so you don't have to go around for
two days and be angry."
The time off comes at a good time for the Islanders, who returned
home Friday night from a three-game West Coast road trip in which
they went 2-1-0 against the San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings and
Anaheim Ducks.
"It was a hard, long trip," Nielsen said. "I think it's good that
we've got a couple days here. The body needs it. Sometimes we've got
to be smart about the days that we get off."
The Islanders looked fresher Monday than the Coyotes (9-8-1), who
are 0-2 on a four-game road trip that will take them to Montreal and
Winnipeg later in the week.
New York collected the first seven shots Monday and took the lead on
Nielsen's power-play goal 4:51 into the period. Tavares picked up a
loose puck after New York won a faceoff deep in the Arizona zone and
passed across the goalmouth to Nielsen, who tucked the puck into the
left corner of the net.
"After that road trip, it's easy to be one of those games where you
feel pretty sluggish and can be sloppy," Tavares said. "And we were
really sharp and doing the right things coming out of our own end."
The Islanders outshot the Coyotes 23-14 in the first two periods but
didn't double the lead until the 1:23 mark of the third, when Nelson
took a pass from Nielsen and scored from almost the same spot as
Nielsen in the first.
Tavares scored at the 5:38 mark and a slap shot by defenseman Johnny
Boychuk glanced off Bernier's stick with 8:10 left.
"We're hanging around the game, that's what you're hoping for on the
road," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "We just didn't execute well
enough to get ourselves back in the game."
Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak (31 saves) stopped the first 28
shots he faced, but center Martin Hanzal ended the shutout bid with
4:15 left. The Coyotes pulled goalie Anders Lindback (27 saves)
shortly thereafter and left winger Mikkel Boedker scored with 2:07
left.
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"We got ourselves back in it," Tippett said. "You're down 4-0, you
might as well push, right? We capitalized on a couple of chances,
but it's a little too late."
Tavares' unassisted empty-netter with 39 seconds left ended any
hopes the Coyotes had of a miracle comeback. The Islanders have
scored multiple goals in the third period in three of their last
four games. Of their 54 goals this season, 26 have come after the
second period.
"We grinded it out, we kept the puck in the offensive zone, we were
moving our feet," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said of Monday's
third period. "That's the way we need to play."
The win for Halak snapped a three-game losing streak and gave him
just his second win in his last six starts (2-3-1), a span in which
he's given up only 12 goals.
Lindback, who allowed a total of eight goals in his first five
appearances this season, fell to 2-3-0.
NOTES: A moment of silence was held prior to the game in honor of
the victims of the terrorist attack Friday in Paris. Afterward, both
the French and American national anthems were sung. ... The
Islanders had a trio of healthy scratches: LW Taylor Beck, G
Jean-Francois Berube and D Adam Pelech . ... Islanders D Marek
Zidlicky, who was a healthy scratch Friday, was active Monday, when
he played in his 800th NHL game. ... The Coyotes scratched RW Steve
Downie (upper body), who missed his fourth straight game, as well as
D Stefan Elliott and LW John Scott. ... The Coyotes had at least 19
points in their first 17 games for the ninth time in 19 seasons
since the franchise moved from Winnipeg following the 1995-96
season.
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