Oliver Wahlstrom scored the decisive goal in the shootout Sunday night for the visiting New York Islanders, who overcame a pair of unexpected absences and then dodged defeat early in overtime before extending their winning streak to nine games with a 3-2 win over the New Jersey Devils in Newark, N.J.
Kieffer Bellows and Brock Nelson scored in the first period and Anthony Beauvillier forced a fourth round in the shootout by scoring for the Islanders. Goalie Ilya Sorokin made 29 saves before stopping three of four shots in the shootout.
The Islanders played without center Jean-Gabriel Pageau and defenseman Noah Dobson, who were placed on the NHL's COVID-19 protocol list. Pageau was never listed on New York's roster while Dobson took warmups before being scratched.
The Islanders played short-handed for a few minutes until Sebastian Aho joined the bench. Aho, who shares the same name as a Carolina Hurricanes forward and who hadn't played in an NHL game since Mar. 18, 2018, earned an assist on his first shift.
Janne Kuokkanen and Yegor Sharangovich also scored for the Devils, who lost their franchise-record 11th straight game at home. Nikita Gusev scored on the first shot of the shootout before New Jersey went 0-for-3 the rest of the way. Goalie Scott Wedgewood made 32 saves in defeat.
The Devils almost won the game 27 seconds into overtime, but P.K. Subban's goal was waved off due to an offsides call.
Aho wasted no time contributing as the defenseman corralled the puck after Jordan Eberle fired it off the back boards and blasted a shot that bounced off Bellows' body and fluttered past Wedgewood at 4:18.
The lead lasted just 54 seconds before the Devils tied the score on a power play generated when Andy Greene was whistled for delay of game. Kuokkanen put home the rebound of a shot by Damon Severson that bounced off the skates of Kyle Palmieri a mere 17 seconds after Greene went to the bench.
The Islanders took the lead in surprising fashion just before the horn when Nelson collected the puck along the boards, whirled and fired a shot that sailed past a screened Wedgewood with 1.7 seconds remaining.
Sharangovich tied the score with 3:56 left in the second.
--Field Level Media
NY Islanders | New Jersey | |
Kieffer Bellows 2 | Points | Janne Kuokkanen 1 |
Kieffer Bellows 2 | Goals | Janne Kuokkanen 1 |
Jordan Eberle 2 | Assists | Kyle Palmieri 1 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Semyon Varlamov .929 | Save Percentage | Mackenzie Blackwood .897 |
Semyon Varlamov 26 | Saves | Mackenzie Blackwood 26 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
NY Islanders | 29 | 3 | 0-4 | 3-3 | 6 | 23 |
New Jersey | 28 | 2 | 0-3 | 4-4 | 8 | 27 |