ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The New York Islanders appear to be emerging from their offensive doldrums.

Center Frans Nielsen scored twice in the third period to lead the Islanders to a 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night in front of 17,174 at the Honda Center.

Goalie Thomas Greiss made 24 saves for his fifth victory as the Islanders (9-6-3) earned their second win in three games.

Before Friday night, New York had scored just 14 goals in its past eight games, six of which were losses. But against Anaheim, the Islanders amassed four goals for the second time in three contests.

"These last three games are a pretty good indication that we're starting to find it," right wing Cal Clutterbuck said. "We're breaking out of our zone better. Our defensemen are doing a good job getting back for pucks and breaking out cleanly, and we're hanging on to the puck goal line to goal line.

"We were trying to score on every touch instead of grind teams down. But I think we're getting to the point now where we're playing well from start to finish."

The Ducks (5-8-4) lost their third in a row after winning four straight, and have allowed 12 goals in those three losses.

"We're playing with half a brain instead of with a whole brain," said goalie Anton Khudobin, who finished with 25 saves.

Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau believes his team still needs to develop consistency.

"We've played good in pockets," Boudreau said. "We have two lines going and two lines not going. We have three defensemen going and three defensemen not going. Getting together and doing it all the time at the same time is what we have to do."

The Islanders took a 1-0 lead in the first period when right winger Brock Nelson converted a wrist shot from the slot off Khudobin's glove for his fifth goal at 6:36.

New York expanded its lead to 2-0 in the second period on Clutterbuck's fourth goal. Defenseman Johnny Boychuk's slap shot from the right point ricocheted off Clutterbuck, who retrieved the puck and shot it off Khudobin's left wrist at 9:35.

The Ducks narrowed their deficit to 2-1 less than two minutes later by exploiting a 5-on-3 power play.

Islanders center Mikhail Grabovski received a tripping penalty at 9:55, followed by Boychuk's holding infraction at 10:36. Less than a minute after Boychuk went to the penalty box, right winger Corey Perry poked the puck off Greiss' chest from the left post at 11:23.

Perry's fifth goal of the season also was the 301st of his career to break a tie with Paul Kariya and move into second place on Anaheim's career scoring list.

New York used Nielsen's two goals to secure the victory in the third period. At 2:47, Nielsen converted a wrist shot from close range after right winger Anders Lee began the scoring sequence by beating Ducks defenseman Josh Manson to a bad pass along the left-wing boards. Lee quickly passed to left winger Josh Bailey, who sent the puck from the right circle to Nielsen.

The Danish center ended the scoring at 16:28, when he converted another wrist shot off Lee's pass from the right circle.

NOTES: New York scratched LW Taylor Beck, D Marek Zidlicky and G Jean-Francois Berube. Zidlicky needs one more game for 800 in his career. .. .LW Josh Bailey entered Friday night's contest without a point in his past seven games and without a goal in his previous nine. He ended up with two assists Friday against the Ducks. ...The Islanders' power play has converted once in 16 chances during the past five games entering Friday night. ... Islanders assistant coach Bob Corkum played for the former Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in their first three seasons. The club chose Corkum in the 1993 expansion draft. ... Anaheim scratched D Korbinian Holzer and C Mike Santorelli. ... Ducks C Ryan Kesler needs two more games to reach 100 with the team. ... A legal representative for Ducks D Clayton Stoner entered a guilty plea on his behalf in a Vancouver courtroom Friday on charges of illegally killing a bear in 2013, reported the Canadian Press, which added that neither Stoner nor his lawyer appeared in court. The plea was part of a plea bargain. ... Ducks LW Jiri Sekac will be out for at least two weeks after suffering a sprained ankle Nov. 1 against Nashville, the club announced Thursday.