Barzal lifts Islanders past Red Wings, 4-3 in shootout
Thomas Vanek
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) - Mathew Barzal had been doing everything but score lately for the Islanders. He broke through against the Detroit Red Wings to get New York a needed win.
Barzal scored a key tying power-play goal in the third period and then got the lone goal of the shootout to lift the Islanders to a 4-3 win over the Red Wings on Saturday night. New York outshot Detroit 48-21 through overtime.
"That's the confidence we have in here. We compete hard," said Barzal, who leads the Islanders with 27 points. "This was a rewarding win."
Anthony Beauvillier and Casey Cizikas also scored in regulation for the Islanders, who beat the Red Wings for the fourth straight time - including a 3-2 win at Detroit last Saturday. Thomas Greiss finished with 18 saves as New York won for just the third time in nine games (3-4-2).
Barzal and Cizikas scored less than three minutes apart in the third to give the Islanders a 3-2 lead with 6:04 remaining. However, with goalie Jonathan Bernier pulled for an extra skater, Thomas Vanek scored against his former team to tie the score with 1:03 left.
"That was a poised play," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "The fact we were able to get a point is huge. We have to grind as many points as we can."
New York has won two of its three games this month at the Nassau Coliseum. Cizikas had the winning goal against Columbus on Dec. 1 in the Islanders' first regular season game in 3 1/2 years back at their old arena. They will play 18 of their final 25 home games at the Coliseum.
"It's massive. We've got to take advantage of these games," he said. "We've played some really big games here. The atmosphere here is something else. That's what you need with home ice."
Vanek finished with a goal and two assists, and Gustav Nyquist and Trevor Daley also scored for Detroit, which has lost six of its last eight and nine of the last 13. Bernier stopped 45 shots through overtime.
The Islanders were coming off a 3-2 loss to Vegas on Wednesday night at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, their home since 2015.
Barzal tied the contest with a power-play goal with 8:57 left in on the Islanders' sixth man advantage of the game. It was Barzal's fourth goal of the season and his first since Nov. 23. He has 23 assists.
"He's dangerous every time he has the puck," Cizikas said of Barzal, who won the Calder Trophy last season as the league's top rookie when he had an 85-point season. "He's playing with a ton of confidence and that's great to see."
New York finished 1 for 6 on the power play, and is just 2 for 34 over its last 13 games.
Cizikas shot the puck past Bernier 2:53 later for his eighth of the season.
Nyquist opened the scoring for the Red Wings at 5:03 of the first with his ninth of the season. Dylan Larkin had an assist on the play, extending his point streak to seven games.
Beauvillier tied it with 8:55 left with his 10th. He has scored in three straight games, and in each of the three games at the Coliseum.
Detroit went ahead 2-1 with 14 seconds remaining in the opening period as Daley scored when the puck just barely crossed the line behind Greiss. The goal was Daley's second of the season.
The goal also represented the 300th career point for the 35-year-old defenseman who spent the majority of his career with Dallas and also won Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017. Daley is also four games from 1,000 in his NHL career.
The game also marked return to Nassau for Frans Nielsen, who played 606 games for the Islanders before joining Detroit as a free agent in 2016.
NOTES: Each of the three games at the Coliseum have drawn sellouts of 13,917. .. The Islanders have allowed 30 shots or fewer in seven straight games. ... The teams meet again in Detroit on March 16. ... Islanders forward Josh Ho-Sang made his season debut following his recent recall from AHL Bridgeport. ... The Islanders scratched forwards Tom Kuhnhackl and Ross Johnston plus defenseman Luca Sbisa. ... Detroit scratched forwards Martin Frk and Wade Megan.
UP NEXT
Islanders: At Colorado on Monday night.
Red Wings: At Philadelphia on Tuesday night.