Islanders 5, Red Wings 4 (SO)
UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Center Frans Nielsen's shootout goal Saturday night capped a wild back-and-forth game and lifted the New York Islanders past the Detroit Red Wings 5-4 at Nassau Coliseum.
The Islanders trailed 2-1 and 3-2 before tying the game late in the second period, taking the lead early in the third and surviving a last-minute power-play goal by the Red Wings that forced overtime.
Centers John Tavares, Casey Cizikas, Brock Nelson and Pierre-Marc Bouchard also scored for the Islanders (8-10-3), who went 2-1-0 on a three-game homestand following an 0-4-0 road trip.
Islanders goalie Kevin Poulin -- who entered 4:12 into the game after Evgeni Nabokov was injured while surrendering the Red Wings' first goal -- made 16 saves and stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout.
Center Pavel Datsyuk scored twice for Detroit, including the tying goal with 43 seconds left in regulation. Center Darren Helm and right winger Johan Franzen also scored for the Red Wings (9-5-7), who lost their sixth straight -- including the last five in overtime or the shootout.
Goalie Jonas Gustavsson made 37 saves for Detroit.
The Islanders immediately peppered Gustavsson and scored 4:03 into the game when Tavares -- with his back to the goal -- put a stick on center Josh Bailey's pass with the apparent intent to turn around and fire a shot. By the time he turned around, the puck had already trickled into the net.
The Red Wings needed just nine seconds to tie the game. After winning the faceoff, Helm broke free and beat Nabokov with a point-blank shot. Nabokov grimaced as he landed on the ice and immediately waved for a trainer. It was the earliest exit ever for Nabokov.
Detroit took the lead with 2:42 left in the period when Datsyuk's shot threaded a gaggle of players in the goalmouth and skipped beyond Poulin.
The teams combined for three goals in an 80-second span late in the second period. First the Islanders tied it with 2:10 left on a hustle goal by Cizikas, who was trailing when left winger Matt Martin passed to right winger Colin McDonald, whose shot was deflected by Gustavsson. But Cizikas charged in, picked up the loose puck and fired past Gustavsson.
Once again, the Red Wings responded almost immediately. Helm intercepted the puck near center ice and passed to Franzen, whose shot sailed past Poulin a mere 33 seconds later.
This time, though, the Islanders needed less than a minute to tie the game again when Nelson put back a rebound of a Tavares shot with 50 seconds left.
The Islanders continued grabbing the momentum just 28 seconds later, when Franzen drew a four-minute penalty for high sticking. New York didn't score during the power play -- which included Gustavsson making a point-blank save of a slap shot by center Frans Nielsen -- but the Islanders took the lead again when a shot from defenseman Aaron Ness ticked off Bouchard's stick and past Gustavsson.
The Red Wings pulled Gustavsson with a little more than a minute left and were rewarded when Datsyuk capped a frenzy in front of the Islanders ' net by sticking a rebound into the lower right corner of the net.
NOTES: G Evgeni Nabokov's previous shortest start came on Nov. 7, 2011, when he allowed three goals on 12 shots and lasted just 14:08 for the Islanders against Boston. ... The game Saturday was the first of three in a 38-day span between the Islanders and Red Wings, who haven't played each other more than once in a season since 2002-03. The Islanders host the Red Wings again on Nov. 29 before visiting Detroit on Dec. 23. The two teams played just six times in the previous eight years, counting the lockout-canceled 2004-05 season. ... The Islanders scratched LWs Eric Boulton and Thomas Vanek and D Radek Martinek. Vanek missed his fourth straight game with an upper body injury but participated in the morning skate Saturday as well as Thursday, when the Islanders lost to the Kings. ... The Red Wings' lone scratch was RW Daniel Alfredsson, who sat out his second straight game with a strained groin. Alfredsson, who was injured during warm-ups prior to Friday's game against Washington, participated in the Red Wings' morning skate on Saturday. ... To replace Alfredsson on the active roster, the Red Wings recalled C Luke Glendening from Grand Rapids.
