New York Islanders edge Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in shootout -NHL Update
New York showed that they are still motivated putting up a great show against Montreal with Islanders edging the Canadiens, 3-2, in a shootout decider as Josh Bailey made the game-winner on their sixth attempt, Saturday night, March 17, 2012 at the sold-out
Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Islanders have come to realise that their playoff dreams are long lost and the only thing to do now is to keep their dignity intact by not finishing off as the lowest ranked team in the Eastern Conference. Forgetting the past few games and ending well is
top priority for New York captain, Mark Streit.
"You know, 10 days ago, we were in the race for the eighth playoff spot," said Streit. "We just gave some games away, we had leads, we were in charge of the games and three times in a row we lost in the last minute or in OT. All of a sudden, you find yourself
in the 15th spot in the Eastern Conference. We have a lot of pride here and a lot of character, and we don't want to finish last."
Aaron Palushaj kicked off the scoring with his first of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season at the 2:53 mark in the opener.
Mark Streit levelled the match on a power play opportunity with Louis Leblanc on the benches for holding. Frans Nielsen took the lead for New York with the tie-breaker at 16:05 but Louis Leblanc’s fourth of the season in round-three forced the overtime extension
to keep the match intense.
David Desharnais and Frans Nielsen scored on Montreal’s and New York’s first attempt respectively followed by two attempts missed by each until Rene Bourque made the potential game-winner until Matt Moulson levelled it once again.
Josh Bailey got the deciding shot after Andrei Markov missed the sixth opportunity, allowing New York to take the win and stay ahead of the Canadiens at number 14.
"Winning in a shootout is always kind of a lottery, but Al played a really nice game," said Streit. "He made some key saves and it's a big win for us."
New York will be continuing their road trip against a playoff hungry Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
Montreal can expect to face some tough competition going up against Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday.
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