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Blake's shootout goal gives Islanders second straight win

Jan 12, 2007 - 5:54 AM BOSTON (Ticker) -- Marc Savard made plays all night for the Boston Bruins. Jason Blake's only play was a game-winner for the New York Islanders.

Blake's goal in the fourth round of the shootout provided the Islanders with their second consecutive win, a 5-4 comeback victory over the Bruins.

Rick DiPietro made 38 saves - including 10 in overtime - for the Islanders, who improved to 2-18-0 when trailing after two periods.

Savard had a goal and two assists in regulation and beat DiPietro to the glove side in the third round of the shootout to keep the Bruins alive. But after New York's Trent Hunter and Boston's Brad Boyes were stopped, Blake started wide right, came back to his left and beat netminder Hannu Toivonen to the glove side for the clincher.

"Well, I had three guys to watch in front of me, and the key was just to get it up," Blake said. "When I made my move, whether it went in or not, the only thing in my mind was to make sure I rose the puck. It went over his pad and (I) was fortunate it went in."

The tally was Blake's first in four shootout attempts this season and third in nine career chances.

"I have not been very successful in the past on penalty shots," he said. "Usually, I just go straight down and shoot on the goalie or miss the net, so I just wanted to change the angle and make him move a little bit more. It could have gone either way. Fortunately, it went in."

DiPietro improved to 3-1 in shootouts this season, stopping an amazing 20 of 23 shots. He kept his team afloat in overtime as well, as the Bruins outshot the Islanders, 10-1, including a pair of near misses by Glen Murray. The 2000 first overall pick also deflected away a wicked slap shot by Boyes on a breakaway with five seconds remaining.

"I was able to see a lot of those shots and get my body in front of them and got some help and took it to the shootout," DiPietro said.

His first save on Murray in the opening minute of overtime looked like a sure winner for the Bruins.

"A deflected puck out in front that I tried to get with my stick," DiPietro said. "I was fortunate enough to get my pad on it. I just reacted to the puck and went over there."

Toivonen recorded 31 saves but fell to 0-2 lifetime in shootouts for the Bruins, who held a 2-1 lead after two periods. Boston also squandered a 2-0 third-period advantage against Ottawa on Tuesday.

"We have had a lot of games where we start well and, in the second period, we sit back a little bit," Boyes said. "We did that tonight and did not create as many opportunities as we did in the first, and they were able to pull within one and carried that momentum into the third.

"It is frustrating to get the lead and have them get a couple of power-play goals to come back and tie it twice. We have to come up with a big penalty kill, and tonight, we didn't do that."

In a wild five-goal third period, Viktor Kozlov's power-play goal with 99 seconds remaining tied the game at 4-4. The center dug the puck out of the left corner, charged to the net and fired a shot under the pads of Toivonen.

Savard gave Boston a 2-0 lead with his 15th of the season 8:40 into the game and assisted on two third-period goals, including defenseman Paul Mara's tally with 6:15 left that gave the Bruins a 4-3 lead. It was Savard's 14th multi-point game of the season and 109th career.

Randy Robitaille, Hunter and defenseman Tom Poti also scored for New York, who improved to 4-2 in the shootout and 1-3-0 on the road this month.

"It was not the start we wanted," Poti said. "We kind of came out slow and sluggish, and it just shows the type of character in this room to come back like that against a good Bruins team."

Patrice Bergeron scored his 15th goal and defenseman Zdeno Chara added his eighth for Boston, which has lost five of its last six games and fell to 3-3 in shootouts.

"It was another chance for us to keep climbing in the standings," Bergeron said. "Yes, we got a point, but we had the game in our hands and we had the lead, and we have to keep that.

"Obviously, we have to play better in the third period. Not just tonight, but in almost all the games since Christmas, we are playing good and then in the third we stop playing a little bit."