Captain Anders Lee scored twice in the third period as the New York Islanders recorded four unanswered goals in a 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday afternoon in Elmont, N.Y.
Zach Parise and Kyle Palmieri also scored for the Islanders, who moved one point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins into the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins visit the Florida Panthers later Saturday.
Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves for the Islanders.
Captain Dylan Larkin scored in the second period and Magnus Hellberg made 32 saves for the Red Wings, who have lost five straight games (0-4-1).
The Islanders held a 25-11 shot advantage when Bo Horvat was whistled for high-sticking to set up a power play. Detroit converted as Larkin scored with 1:01 left in the second period.
David Perron, defenseman Moritz Seider and Robby Fabbri exchanged the puck in an around-the-horn sequence before Fabbri dished back to Seider, who passed into the crease to Larkin. The center corralled the puck, turned and tucked a shot over Sorokin’s right leg.
Parise tied the score following an end-to-end rush 2:11 into the third period. Sebastian Aho weaved through the neutral zone before passing to Palmieri, whose shot clipped off Aho’s stick and was deflected by Hellberg before Parise swooped in and buried the rebound.
A faceoff win by the Islanders led to Lee’s game-winner just 2:28 later. Casey Cizikas outdueled Larkin and the puck bounced to Hudson Fasching, who immediately fired from the slot. His shot was redirected by Lee as the New York captain battled for position in front of the net with Red Wings defenseman Olli Maatta.
The Islanders put the game away with two insurance goals in a span of 1:41 late in the period. Defenseman Noah Dobson’s shot from the slot clipped off the stick of Palmieri with 4:19 left before Lee scored seconds after a Red Wings turnover.
–Field Level Media
