(Updated: ADDS career-high for Lehner 2ND GRAPH and ADDS Hickey’s first name 5TH GRAPH)
Islanders 5, Senators 4 (SO): Frans Nielsen scored to forge a tie early in the third period before converting in the second round for the only tally of the shootout as visiting New York overcame a pair of two-goal deficits to stun Ottawa.
After Robin Lehner (career-high 53 saves) denied Thomas Vanek on a breakaway late in overtime, Nielsen was able to solve the backup netminder in the bonus format. The Dane skated in and wristed a shot past Lehner’s outstretched right pad and Evgeni Nabokov (27 saves) stopped Senators captain Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek and Bobby Ryan to preserve the victory.
Captain John Tavares and Matt Martin scored 28 seconds apart midway through the second period to make it 2-2. Pierre-Mac Bouchard also tallied for the Islanders, who improved to 3-5-2 in their last 10 games.
Ryan scored to secure his 300th career point and Erik Condra and Mika Zibanejad tallied 62 seconds apart late in the first period. Clarke MacArthur also scored and Derek Grant notched an assist for his first point of his NHL career for the Senators, who have dropped four in a row. (0-3-1).
Ryan cleaned up a rebound and MacArthur gave Ottawa its second two-goal advantage at 4-2 with 5:13 remaining in the second period after he beat Nabokov to the far post on a wraparound for his first goal of the season. Bouchard trimmed the deficit by poking home a rebound nearly four minutes later before Nielsen knotted it up after converting Thomas Hickey’s nifty cross-ice feed 3:14 into the third.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Condra opened the scoring with 1:22 left in the first period after intercepting an outlet pass before beating Nabokov from the top of the right circle. After Zibanejad doubled the advantage, New York trimmed the deficit as Tavares converted Vanek’s brilliant backhanded feed before Martin deflected D Matt Carkner’s shot to knot the contest at 9:35 of the second. … New York RW Kyle Okposo notched two assists just one contest removed after his five-game point streak came to an end. … Ottawa killed off all four short-handed situations to improve to 24-for-25 at home this season.
