|
 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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