Senators 2 - 3 Islanders
Final - 2OT
  for this game

Islanders edge Senators in SO

Mar 4, 2013 - 12:29 AM Uniondale, NY (Sports Network) - Frans Nielsen and John Tavares scored in the shootout, leading the New York Islanders to a 3-2 win over Ottawa at Nassau Coliseum.

Nielsen opened the shootout by beating Sens goaltender Robin Lehner through the pads with a wrister. Evgeni Nabokov turned away both Jakob Silfverberg and Daniel Alfredsson.

Tavares iced the game for the hosts by using several stick-fakes to draw Lehner to the left side of his crease before slipping the puck home on the opposite side.

"I didn't think he was expecting the move I wanted to do," Tavares said. "I just tried to sell the shot to try and make him commit so that I could go back to my backhand."

Brad Boyes and Michael Grabner tallied in regulation and Nabokov finished with 29 saves for the Islanders, who snapped a three-game slide.

Mika Zibanejad and Patrick Wiercioch scored for the Senators, who suffered their third straight one-goal defeat despite a 33-save performance by Lehner.

"It's disappointing...I thought in the second and third we were dictating play better in the second and third than we did in the first," said Ottawa head coach Paul MacLean. "

Boyes put the Islanders on the board at 7:48 of the first period, ripping a wrister from between the circles high to the far post.

Ottawa drew even at 8:36 of the second when Zibanejad one-timed a touch pass from Chris Neil in the slot for his fourth of the season.

New York assumed a 2-1 edge with 3:29 left in regulation, when Grabner picked off an errant clear and was left alone to skate up the middle and slip a hard wrister past Lehner.

But Kyle Okposo went off for tripping with 1:48 remaining, and Wiercioch's point blast caromed off bodies in front and through Nabokov to tie the game once more.

Lehner made quick pad stops on Tavares in front with just under two minutes left in overtime, two of his five saves in the extra session to get his team to the shootout.

"We battled hard tonight and we got the win against a pretty good hockey team over there," Isles head coach Jack Capuano said. "Ottawa is a well structured team and it starts from the net out."

Game Notes

The Islanders, who improved to 2-0 in the shootout this season, also posted their first home win against Ottawa since Feb. 5, 2011, a 5-3 triumph ... New York improved their record as hosts to 3-8-1 ... The Senators fell to 3-2 in the shootout.






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