Islanders 5, Ducks 2
NEW YORK -- Snapping out of an offensive slump, the New York Islanders scored three first-period goals Monday night and went on to end a three-game losing streak by beating the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 at Barclays Center.
Right winger Cal Clutterbuck, defenseman Travis Hamonic and center Brock Nelson scored in the first for the Islanders, who produced a total of three goals in their previous three games.
Hamonic and Nelson scored 43 seconds apart in the final minute of the period, which was New York's first three-goal period since Nov. 30.
Center Josh Bailey and left winger Matt Martin scored in the third for the Islanders (19-11-5), who moved into second place in the Metropolitan Division, a point ahead of the idle New York Rangers.
Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak recorded 27 saves.
Left winger Carl Hagelin and defenseman Josh Manson scored for the Ducks (12-15-5), who have lost three of four (1-3-0). The defeat ensured Anaheim would not break a three-way tie for fewest points in the league with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Ducks goalie John Gibson stopped 18 of the 19 shots he faced in two periods of relief work. Frederik Andersen was pulled after allowing three goals on 11 shots, the first time the Ducks gave up three goals in a period since Nov. 21.
The Ducks pulled within 3-2 at the 7:32 mark of the third, when Manson picked a loose puck out of the air and fired a shot past a screened Halak.
However, the Islanders regained a two-goal advantage just 2:03 later. Center Anders Lee got a stick on a clearing pass from behind the Ducks' net by Anaheim defenseman Hampus Lindholm. Bailey swooped in and sent a slap shot past Gibson.
Martin iced the win with an empty-net goal with 2:33 remaining.
The Ducks scored first, but the Islanders took a 3-1 lead with a trio of goals in the final five-plus minutes of the first period.
Anaheim went ahead at 6:52. Hagelin's initial shot between defensemen Calvin de Haan and Johnny Boychuk was deflected by Halak, but Hagelin followed the shot and sent the rebound into the net.
The Islanders tied it with 5:06 left in the first. Clutterbuck skated up the left side, and he managed to retain the puck as he was checked into the boards by defenseman Kevin Bieksa. With only his top hand on the stick, Clutterbuck tucked the puck past Andersen.
The Islanders took a two-goal lead in the final minute of the period. After New York won a faceoff deep in the Ducks zone, Hamonic was credited with the goal -- his first since Nov. 20 -- when his shot ticked off the skate of defenseman Sami Vatanen.
Hamonic's goal had just been announced when Nelson's slap shot threaded a pair of Ducks and sailed past Andersen with 16.3 seconds left in the first. Andersen remained in the goal when the buzzer sounded before slowly making his way off the ice. He was replaced to start the second by John Gibson.
NOTES: The Islanders scratched RW Kyle Okposo (lower body) as well as LW Eric Boulton and D Marek Zidlicky. ... On Sunday, the Islanders assigned RW Kirill Petrov, a third-round pick in the 2008 draft who has yet to play an NHL game, to Ak Bars Kazan of Russia's KHL. ... The Ducks scratched LW Max Friberg and D Clayton Stoner as well as C Nate Thompson, who completed a three-game suspension he received for delivering an illegal check to the head of Carolina D Justin Faulk on Dec. 11. ... The Ducks, in the midst of a four-game, six-day East Coast trip, did not hold a morning skate. ... The Islanders scattered for their holiday break following the game, which was the franchise's earliest final pre-Christmas game since 1976. The Ducks visit the New York Rangers in their final pre-Christmas game Tuesday.