Islanders 5, Jets 4 (SO)
Islanders 5, Jets 4 (SO): John Tavares and Brad Boyes scored in the shootout as visiting New York snapped Winnipeg’s five-game winning streak.
Josh Bailey and Frans Nielsen each had a goal and an assist and Michael Grabner and Matt Martin also scored for the sixth-place Islanders, who improved to 8-0-2 in April. New York remained two points behind Toronto, which claimed a postseason berth after skating to a 4-1 triumph over provincial-rival Ottawa on Saturday night.
Captain Andrew Ladd tallied in the shootout and finished with two assists for the Jets, who fell three points behind Southeast Division-leading Washington while moving within one point of the eighth-place New York Rangers. Kyle Wellwood scored twice, Bryan Little tied the contest with 2:01 remaining in the third period and defenseman Zach Bogosian added his second goal in as many games.
Boyes beat Ondrej Pavelec (29 saves) with a forehand deke to close the second round of the shootout. Ladd opened the third round by firing a wrist shot from the slot past Evgeni Nabokov (24 saves), but Tavares put the puck between Pavelec’s pads to seal the Islanders’ second victory on their season-ending five-game road trip.
New York led 3-1 midway through the second period before Wellwood scored two goals in under three minutes to erase the deficit. Trailing 4-3 late in the third, the Jets pulled Pavelec when Islanders defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky was called for interference and Little slid a cross-crease pass from Ladd into an open net from the doorstep.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Visnovsky saved the game for the Islanders in the extra period when he slid through the crease to block a rebound chance with Nabokov out of position. ... Winnipeg C Olli Jokinen left the game with a lower-body injury after playing 48 seconds in the first period. ... With the score tied 3-3 in the third period, Jets LW Eric Tangradi blocked four shots in one shift and received a standing ovation from the MTS Centre crowd for his efforts. ... Ladd, who is riding a seven-game point streak, has eight in his last three contests.