Islanders 7, Sabres 6 (OT)
All-Star Michael Grabner capped his first career hat trick by scoring 2:55 into overtime as the shorthanded New York Islanders skated to a 7-6 road triumph over the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday in a battle of Empire State rivals.
The Islanders were playing without forwards Trevor Gillies and Matt Martin, who were suspended nine and four games, respectively, by the NHL for their roles in Friday's 9-3 fight-filled victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Grabner opened the scoring 40 seconds into the contest and added his second exactly three minutes into the third period. Grabner finished the hat trick after accepting a brilliant lead pass from Kyle Okposo before tucking the puck past reigning Vezina Trophy winner Ryan Miller for his 15th goal in 14 games.
Defenseman Milan Jurcina netted a pair of power-play goals just 76 seconds apart in the third period for New York (20-29-7), which has won three in a row and five of its last seven.
Former top overall pick John Tavares and Blake Comeau also scored and Okposo and Frans Nielsen notched three assists apiece for the Islanders.
Recalled from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League on Friday, Al Montoya relieved Mikko Koskinen in the second period and stopped 12 shots to pick up the win.
Drew Stafford netted a hat trick and Jochen Hecht, Nathan Gerbe and defenseman Tyler Myers also scored for Buffalo (26-22-6), which saw its three-game winning streak come to an end.
Miller finished with 19 saves to fall to 11-3-2 since the calendar switched to 2011.