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Comrie helps Islanders to fifth straight win

Feb 21, 2008 - 4:59 AM WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- After a stretch in which they were unable to buy a victory, the New York Islanders just can't lose.

Josef Vasicek tied the game midway through the third period and Mike Comrie scored the lone goal in the shootout as the Islanders extended their winning streak to five games Wednesday with a 3-2 triumph over the Washington Capitals.

Miroslav Satan also scored in regulation for New York, which had gone 0-6-1 before beginning their run of success with a win over Philadelphia on February 12.

"I think the biggest thing we've done is change our work ethic," Comrie said. "We got away from our system, and I think our coaching staff stressed that we're not going to win by outskating a lot of teams. We're going to have to work hard, and it might not be pretty. We don't want to make a habit of coming back, but it shows a lot of character."

"We're trying to make the playoffs, that's what's on our minds," New York All-Star goaltender Rick DiPietro said. "We dug ourselves a hole and now we have to dig ourselves out."

Washington's Matt Pettinger has taken notice of New York's turnaround.

"The other night, they were down, 2-0, against San Jose and they came back and won," Pettinger said. "We knew they were going to come out hungry, and they showed a lot of life there in the second (period)."

Alexander Semin and Brooks Laich tallied for the Capitals, who earned a point to climb within two of the idle Carolina Hurricanes for first place in the Southeast Division.

"I feel like we lost a point rather than gained a point tonight," Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said. "It was a game in hand that we had, and by the end, we didn't have a ton of energy. ... I thought we could have won, but I believe that the outcome was what we deserved."

Trailing, 2-1, after 40 minutes, the Islanders pulled even with 8:51 to go in third period with an unlikely goal. After having a shot from the right point hit his leg and go wide of the net, Vasicek gained possession below the end line and banked a backhander off netminder Olaf Kolzig's left leg and in for his 12th of the season.

"They got a lucky goal there on the second one," Kolzig said. "He was able to just bank it in on me. They do that to me a couple times a year. They find a way to get those cheesy ones."

"That was great," Islanders defenseman Freddy Meyer said. "(Kolzig) was a little out of his crease there, and (Vasicek) banked it off him. Once again, it's kind of a dirty goal. We were talking about that the last game, but that's a key down the stretch, to get those dirty goals in traffic and tie the game and win the game for you."

Vasicek was impressed with his team's ability to rally from a two-goal deficit.

"The best thing tonight was, we didn't panic," Vasicek said. "We played the way we're capable of playing, even after getting down 2-0. Even going into the third, being down 2-1, we didn't panic. We kept the game simple in our zone and we were coming and coming."

Quiet for much of the game, All-Star Alex Ovechkin - the league leader with 48 goals - nearly put Washington ahead late in the period, but his shot with just under four minutes remaining rang off the goalpost.

Following a scoreless overtime, neither team was able to get a shot on goal in the first round of the shootout. In the second round, both Ovechkin and Satan hit the right goalpost, and Semin was denied by DiPietro on Washington's third attempt.

That set the stage for Comrie, who skated in and slid a backhander between the pads of Kolzig to clinch the win for the Islanders.

"He's a big goalie, so I just tried to get him to go side to side," Comrie said. "He committed hard, so I was able to go to the left and slide the puck to the right.

"Probably the best thing you can have as an athlete is a chance to win the game. Whatever sport it is, an athlete always wants to have that opportunity, and when it works, you feel great because you help the team win."

With the victory, New York improved to 9-2-1 against Washington since the start of the 2003-04 season.

"I don't know what it is. Some teams just have teams they play well against," Pettinger said. "We play well against Ottawa and other teams have fits in Ottawa. There are a lot of teams in the league, some you play well against and others you struggle with."

Semin opened the scoring at 2:17 of the first period with his 17th goal of the season. After receiving a pass from Pettinger in the neutral zone for a breakaway, Semin lifted a backhander that beat DiPietro to the glove side for a 1-0 lead.

With the tally, Semin extended his goal-scoring streak to three games.

Laich doubled the advantage during a power play with 6:23 remaining in the first. Defenseman Mike Green unleashed a wrist shot from the right point that Laich deflected past DiPietro while skating across the slot for his 10th of the campaign.

New York halved the deficit midway through the second.

After serving a slashing penalty, captain Bill Guerin exited the box, grabbed the puck and headed in on a partial breakaway. Kolzig made the save, but Guerin chased down the puck along the left wing boards and made a pass to Satan, who put a backhander past the netminder from in front at 9:37.

DiPietro finished with 28 saves for the Islanders, who are missing four of their top six defensemen due to injuries.

"DiPietro played very well for them, and obviously, that's what they are going to need with strong guys missing," Kolzig said. "For all the guys they are missing and them to come out with a win, I mean, hats off to them."

Kolzig stopped 17 shots for Washington, which is 18-0-2 when leading after two periods.