Islanders 2, Flames 1
Captain John Tavares scored twice and Jaroslav Halak finished with 22 saves to win his seventh straight start as visiting New York skated to its third consecutive victory.
Kyle Okposo set up both of Tavares' tallies for the Islanders, who improved to 7-1-1 in their last nine contests and remained even in points with Pittsburgh atop the Metropolitan Division. Ryan Strome and defensemen Calvin de Haan each notched an assist to extend their respective point streaks to three contests.
Named the NHL's Rookie of the Month for December, Johnny Gaudreau scored his seventh goal in six games with 3:25 remaining in the third period to trim New York's lead to 2-1. Jonas Hiller turned aside 22 shots for the Flames, who failed on all three of their power-play opportunities to see their four-game winning streak come to a halt and fell to 3-1-0 on their six-game homestand.
With Lance Bouma serving a tripping penalty in the first period, Matt Stajan was whistled for putting his glove over the puck for a faceoff violation to create a 5-on-3 advantage. The Islanders patiently passed the puck before Tavares converted Strome's goal-mouth feed from the right doorstep exactly eight minutes into the session to open the scoring and added his team-leading 17th goal with 7:44 left in the third as his wrist shot from the slot trickled past Hiller.
Calgary pulled Hiller for an extra attacker and Gaudreau spotted a loose puck in the slot, wristing it past Halak to get his team on the scoreboard. The Flames pressed for the equalizer, but Halak denied Sean Monahan from the right faceoff circle in the final minute.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Tavares has recorded five goals and three assists in five career games versus Calgary. ... Playing in his 75th career contest, Strome has collected one goal and six assists during his point streak while de Haan has recorded one goal and two assists on his run. ... New York D Thomas Hickey had two shots on goal in 20:07 of ice time in his return to his hometown.