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Schremp's late goal sends Isles past Ottawa

Feb 6, 2011 - 5:14 AM Uniondale, NY (Sports Network) - Rob Schremp's goal in the early stages of the third period put the New York Islanders up for good in a 5-3 victory over the reeling Ottawa Senators at Nassau Coliseum.

Schremp ended with two goals for the Islanders, who have won two of their last three. Michael Grabner and Frans Nielsen each added a goal and an assist while Matt Moulson lit the lamp for the victors.

Kevin Poulin stopped 20 shots in place of No. 1 goaltender Rick DiPietro, who is expected to miss the next 4-to-6 weeks with facial fractures suffered in a fight Wednesday against Pittsburgh goaltender Brent Johnson.

Mike Fisher, Chris Neil and Alex Kovalev each tallied for the Senators, who have dropped nine straight and have just one win in their last 16 contests.

Brian Elliott gave up three first-period goals on 13 shots and was pulled in favor of Robin Lehner, who finished out the game with 23 saves.

The Islanders opened the third period with a 5-on-3 advantage because of a scuffle that finished out the second period. Lehner had a costly elbowing penalty while the teams were skating off the ice when he gave Poulin the business.

"Their goalie was obviously upset and he had some things to say to me," Lehner said. "He came towards me and I won't back down. That's the way I am."

The penalty paid dividends for the Islanders, who scored 1:39 into the final frame on Schremp's shot from the slot went between Lehner's legs for a 4-3 edge.

"It was nice to capitalize on that," Schremp said. "It was kind of a bad penalty for their goalie to take. It feels good to make them pay for it."

New York fended off a 6-on-4 advantage after Andy MacDonald was called for tripping and Lehner was pulled for another attacker. Nielsen added an empty netter with 51 ticks left to seal the win.

All the other scoring came in the first period as the Islanders struck first at the 4:10 mark after Moulson jammed home a rebound.

Just 13 seconds later, though, the Senators capitalized on Poulin's miscue behind the net to knot the game, 1-1.

The netminder went to settle a dumped puck behind the net but got tied up which allowed Fisher to take control of the disc and centered it to Neil, who had an easy shot into the wide open empty net.

New York was back on top, 2-1, nearing the midway point of the first. Grabner, from the doorstep, swept a big rebound under the goaltender.

The Senators tallied next to tie the game once more with 7:40 left to go in the first when Fisher ripped a shot from the left circle that found the back of the net.

Ottawa saw its first lead of the game, 3-2, at the 17:11 mark on Kovalev's snap shot from the outer edge of the right circle. However, the Islanders knotted it for the third time just 17 seconds later when Schremp chipped in a centering pass from Jeremy Colliton.

The scoring subsided in the second period as Lehner replaced Elliott to stop all 12 shots he faced. Meanwhile, Poulin turned away eight shots in the scoreless period.

Game Notes

Jason Spezza returned for the Senators after suffering a right shoulder injury against the Penguins on December 26. He was ineffective with a minus-two rating...New York's Ty Wishart scored his first NHL points with two assists in the win and teammate Travis Hamonic added two helpers...Chris Campoli notched two assists in the losing effort...The season series is 2-1 in favor of Ottawa.