Tavares picked up a loose puck near his own blue line, threaded through defenders and beat Wings goaltender Jared Coreau for his 37th goal.
Ryan Pulock scored a power-play goal in the final minute of regulation to allow the Islanders to force overtime. Anders Lee scored his 40th goal and Andrew Ladd had the other Islanders tally. Mathew Barzal had two assists to lift his season total to 63, while Thomas Greiss stopped 36 shots for New York.
Henrik Zetterberg, Justin Abdelkader and Dylan Larkin had the Wings' goals.
The Islanders finished the season at 35-37-10, for 80 points. The Red Wings closed out the season with a 30-39-13 record, for 73 points.
The Red Wings scored the only goal of the first period. Zetterberg fired the puck along the right boards toward the net and it bounced off a defenseman's stick and into the net at the 11:13 mark.
Ladd tied the game early in the second. Cal Clutterbuck whipped a pass from the left boards to an open Ladd, who one-timed it from the right circle past Coreau.
Good fortune struck for the Wings once again during the first power play of the game. Zetterberg tossed a pass from behind the boards toward the net. It deflected off Abdelkader's skate and into the net at the 11:58 mark of the second period.
Larkin's 16th goal at 4:10 of the third gave Detroit a two-goal advantage. Anthony Mantha attempted a pass in the Islanders zone that bounced off a defenseman's stick. Larkin extended his stick and the puck fluttered past Greiss.
Lee reached the 40-goal mark when he lifted a backhander off Coreau's sleeve and into the net.
A tripping penalty against Mantha helped the Islanders tie it with 29.7 seconds remaining. Pulock scored from the left circle with a setup from Barzal.
Mantha had a breakaway in overtime but Greiss was up to the task, preserving the game for Tavares' winner.
--Field Level Media
NY Islanders | Detroit | |
Ryan Pulock 2 | Points | Henrik Zetterberg 2 |
Ryan Pulock 1 | Goals | Henrik Zetterberg 1 |
Mathew Barzal 2 | Assists | Henrik Zetterberg 1 |
Ryan Pulock 1 | Power Play Goals | Justin Abdelkader 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Thomas Greiss .923 | Save Percentage | Jared Coreau .900 |
Thomas Greiss 36 | Saves | Jared Coreau 36 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
NY Islanders | 40 | 4 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 2 | 29 |
Detroit | 39 | 3 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 4 | 28 |