Marleau's late tally lifts Sharks over Islanders
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Aaron Dell does not see a lot of action as the San Jose Sharks' back-up goalie. Yet the New York Islanders would say they've seen too much of him.
San Jose's rookie netminder beat New York for the second time this season on Friday. He stopped 26 as the hosts got a late tie-breaking goal from Patrick Marleau to win 3-2 during a Friday matinee in front of sold-out crowd of 17,562 fans at SAP Center.
The 27-year-old Dell beat the Islanders 3-2 on Oct. 18, during his NHL debut. He made only one start since before Friday. Nonetheless, Dell was up to the task as he nursed a one-goal lead while the Isles pressured hard over the final period.
New York tied the game 2-2 with its goalie pulled with 57.2 seconds remaining when defenseman Nick Leddy one-timed John Tavares' feed past Dell.
But Marleau struck for his sixth goal with 22.5 seconds left to give San Jose its third straight win.
The Sharks struck for goals 34 seconds apart on consecutive shots early in the middle period to take a 2-1 lead into the second intermission.
Captain Joe Pavelski scored his seventh goal of the season at 5:09 and defenseman Brent Burns added his team-high eighth at 5:43 in rapid-fire succession after ex-Sharks goalie Thomas Greiss had stymied the hosts over the first 25 minutes.
Left wing Matt Nieto's stretch pass hopped over the stick of Islanders' defenseman Johnny Boychuk to a breaking Chris Tierney, who instead of taking a shot slid a cross-ice drop pass to Pavelski for a one-timer.
Burns let go with a slap shot from center ice that deflected off the stick of Islanders' defenseman Calvin de Haan to handcuff Greiss on San Jose's 15th shot of the game. Burns owns two goals and five points in the last three games.
New York squandered a glorious opportunity when Tavares fired wide point blank with Dell diving across his crease late, following Josh Bailey's feed after Burns turned the puck over deep in San Jose's end.
The Islanders scored the only goal of a first period that the Sharks dominated over the final 12 minutes. San Jose held an 11-5 edge in shots on goal and a 24-14 advantage in shot attempts.
New York capitalized on its first power play, needing only 27 seconds of a slashing minor by San Jose defenseman Brenden Dillon to convert.
Bailey's half wrist shot from the center of the blue line was redirected by Anders Lee past Dell at 3:59. Lee's fourth goal of the season was also his third in two games.
The Sharks pushed hard soon thereafter only to be turned away time and time again by Greiss. Joe Thornton was awarded a penalty shot when Boychuk hooked the Sharks' breaking center. But Thornton fired wide at 13:04.
NOTES: San Jose allowed two or fewer goals in 12 of its first 20 games before Friday. ... The Islanders allowed a game-tying or game-deciding goal in the final three minutes of the third period seven times in their first 19 games before Friday. ... One-time Sharks G Thomas Greiss made his seventh straight start for the Islanders and was opposed by Sharks rookie G Aaron Dell, who made just his third start in 21 games. ... New York next hosts Calgary on Monday while the San Jose's homestand continues on Saturday against Anaheim. ... The Islanders, who continue to play without C Mikhail Grabovski (concussion), D Ryan Pulock (broken foot) and D Dennis Seidenberg (upper body), scratched G Jaroslav Halak, D Scott Mayfield and RW Ryan Strome. ... San Jose's scratches included LW Melker Karlsson and D Dylan DeMelo.