New York Islanders bounce back with 4-3 win over Montreal Canadiens -NHL Match Update
The New York Islanders had not won a single contest in the past four matchups after winning against the Washington Capitals, 5-3. They finally made a comeback and edged the Montreal Canadiens, 4-3, Thursday night, November 17, 2011, at the Nassau Veterans
Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, United States.
New York nearly lost the lead when the Canadiens scored another goal late in the third period, but the experienced players luckily came forward and kept Montreal out of the net for good.
"These are the types of games we have to learn how to win", said Isles veteran forward Jay Pandolfo, whose second-period goal was his first as an Islander and the 100th of his career. "We found a way tonight, and we have to keep doing that".
The Islanders are still at number 15 in the Eastern Conference with 13 points and are looking to continue winning in order to gain to those valuable points and finally begin to move up in the ranks.
After facing just two attempts, New York lost their veteran goalie, Evgeni Nabokov, who went out due to a groin injury of undisclosed seriousness. He is currently under observation with the team waiting for a final report.
Rick Dipietro took the place of Nabokov and earned his first victory of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season after blocking 24 of the next 27 shots on his net.
Scoreless in the first period, P.A. Parenteau scored the opener 41 seconds into the second 20 minute round for his third of the season on a breakaway opportunity unassisted.
Jay Pandolfo potted his first of the season to extend the lead even further a few minutes later while Mark Streit widened the gap with another before halfway through the period.
Max Pacioretty finally put the Canadiens up on the scoreboard at the 14:52 mark while Erik Cole brought the visitors within reach of the lead by one but it was New York’s, Matt Moulson, who maintained the lead to force an intense third period contest.
Brian Gionta took advantage of one of two power play opportunities in the final round with less than five minutes remaining, still being down by one, it looked as if the Canadiens were preparing to force an overtime extension.
Luckily, New York limited them to only eight shots in the final period to take the match.
Tags: