• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

DiPietro personally ends long skid against Maple Leafs

Feb 14, 2007 - 5:16 AM TORONTO (Ticker) -- The New York Islanders have Rick DiPietro to thank for snapping a long skid against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

DiPietro stopped all 16 shots in the third period and two more in the shootout as the Islanders posted a 3-2 victory to end a five-game road losing streak against the Maple Leafs.

Rookie Frans Nielsen and Viktor Kozlov scored in the shootout for New York, which completed a 1-1-1 road trip to move into a ninth-place tie with Toronto in the Eastern Conference playoff chase.

"This is one of the biggest games we've played so far, probably the biggest game we've played this season," New York coach Ted Nolan said. "I thought DiPietro was the difference tonight. I thought he was sensational.

"Sometimes you win some games where maybe you shouldn't and there are some games that you should have won that maybe you didn't, but they all equal out. It doesn't matter how you win them."

DiPietro was absolutely fantastic in the third period, making several spectacular game-saving saves, while the Islanders managed just one shot in the final stanza.

"Toronto is tough at home," DiPietro said. "I don't think we've won here in five years. (Toronto) put a surge on and played desperate, but for the most part we played well.

"My mind-set is to just keep the puck out of the net. When you're able to see pucks it's easier to make the saves. I just feel fortunate that we got out of here with two points.

The netminder turned aside four more shots in the extra session before stopping Alexei Ponikarovsky in the first round of the shootout.

"It's unfortunate that we ended up on the wrong end of it again," Toronto defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo said. "The momentum was in our favor, but we just couldn't find a way to beat them. DiPietro made a lot of great saves. It was just one of those games where we just couldn't get on the right side of the bounces."

After Toronto's Mats Sundin wristed a shot over the glove hand of DiPietro into the far corner of the net, Kozlov charged Andrew Raycroft, moved the puck to the right and brought it back to his left before wristing it over the Toronto netminder's pads. DiPietro then made a glove save of a slap shot by Nik Antropov to seal it.

"They had many more shots than us in the third," New York right wing Miroslav Satan said. "(DiPietro) was the story of the game. He probably stole the game. He made some unbelievable saves and definitely kept us in the game.

"It was great to take two points tonight and, even more importantly, take the point away from Toronto."

Nielsen, who has not scored a goal in eight career games, deked Raycroft then went to the backhand and beat the netminder over the pads. It was his first shootout attempt.

"We took a chance by putting (Neilsen) first in the shootout," Nolan said. "No pressure on the kid. He came right in and he was good. Viktor Kozlov's been really good for us in the shootout."

"I was pretty nervous but it was fun," Nielsen said. "The guys were happy for me. I was going with the backhand all the way. I didn't even look at the goalie."

Raycroft stopped 14 stops in regulation and four more in overtime.

Pavel Kubina opened the scoring 6:14 into the game on the power play for Toronto. New York came back with goals 27 seconds apart early in the second. Trent Hunter scored 4:49 into the period and Satan scored his 20th of the campaign. The Maple Leafs' Bates Battaglia scored just over five minutes later to tie the game at 2-2.