Hudson Fasching scored the tiebreaking goal and had an assist to lead the New York Islanders to a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday in Elmont, N.Y.
Casey Cizikas and Josh Bailey also had a goal and an assist apiece for the Islanders, who maintained their hold on the first Eastern Conference wild-card spot. Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves as New York improved to 5-1-1 in the past seven games.
Dylan Cozens and Kyle Okposo scored for Buffalo, which is six points behind the Islanders with three games in hand. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 36 shots.
The Sabres have lost two straight and four of their past five.
Fasching netted the decisive goal at 7:37 of the third period when he redirected a shot off his shin from the left of the net to make it 3-2. Officials initially waved off the goal due to a kicking motion, but the call was overturned after a video review.
Cozens gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead five minutes into the second period. Cozens took a loose puck from the wall in the neutral zone to the middle and skated into the Islanders’ zone, cutting through Adam Pelech and Bo Horvat before firing a wrist shot from the inner hashmarks of the right circle far side.
Cizikas tied it 1-1 at 12:38 of the second. Fasching, from behind the net, sent a pass through the legs of Buffalo defenseman Owen Power to the front of the net, where Cizikas quickly pushed it through Luukkonen’s pads.
That gave the home side life, and New York pushed in the second half of the middle frame. Fans thought the Islanders took a 2-1 lead with just over five minutes to go in the period on a Fasching backhand from the slot that prompted the goal light to go on, but the forward hit the left post.
New York outshot Buffalo 17-7 in the second period.
Bailey scored on the backhand down low to put the Islanders ahead 2-1 at 1:51 of the third period.
Okposo tied it 2-2 at 4:59 when he fired a point shot through traffic past a screened Sorokin.
–Field Level Media
