Devils 3, Islanders 2 (OT)
Defenseman Anssi Salmela scored 3:09 into overtime as the New Jersey Devils skated to a 3-2 home triumph over the New York Islanders on Saturday in a battle of Atlantic Division rivals.
David Clarkson recorded a goal and an assist and Jacob Josefson netted his first career NHL tally for New Jersey (32-32-4), which posted its 22nd win in 27 outings (22-3-2). The Devils are now just six points out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Mattias Tedenby notched a pair of assists and Martin Brodeur turned aside 13 shots to improve to 14-2-1 in his last 17 starts.
In overtime, Salmela accepted a feed from Tedenby and wristed a shot from just inside the red faceoff circle past Al Montoya for his first goal of the season.
Blake Comeau collected a shorthanded goal and John Tavares also tallied for New York (27-32-11), which fell to 4-0-3 in its last seven games.
Montoya finished with 32 saves to drop to 7-2-3 this season.