Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson scored in a shootout and goalie Kevin Mandolese, making his NHL debut, recorded 46 saves before turning back a pair of shootout attempts for the Ottawa Senators, who beat the New York Islanders 3-2 in Elmont, N.Y.
Mandolese and Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin each stopped the first attempts they faced in the shootout before Stutzle beat Sorokin stick side. Mandolese turned back Kyle Palmieri, after which Batherson clinched the win by firing a shot past Sorokin.
Stutzle scored in the second period and Brady Tkachuk scored in the third for the Senators, who have won six of seven (6-1-0).
Ryan Pulock and Brock Nelson scored for the Islanders, who have lost three straight (0-1-2). New York entered Tuesday tied for ninth place in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins in the race for the second wild card.
Sorokin made 32 saves.
After a scoreless first period, the Islanders took advantage of a Senators turnover to go ahead 5:41 into the second.
Erik Brannstrom’s pass intended for Dylan Gambrell deep in the Senators’ zone eluded its target and was corralled in the Islanders’ zone by Pulock, who dished to Sebastian Aho before he began skating up the ice. Aho passed to Matt Martin, who was harassed from behind by Gambrell but managed to find Pulock, whose shot from the middle of the slot sailed beyond Mandolese’s stick arm.
The Senators tied the score and took the lead by scoring twice in a span of a little more than six minutes bridging the second and third periods. Travis Hamonic’s pass into the neutral zone glanced off Tkachuk and to a streaking Stutzle, who had Pulock in front of him before firing a shot under Sorokin’s glove with 2:28 left in the second.
Palmieri was whistled for interference at 2:47 of the third to set up the power-play goal by Tkachuk, who put his stick down in the crease and redirected Stutzle’s shot at the 3:41 mark.
The Islanders tied the score with a power-play goal of their own less than four minutes later. With Brannstrom in the penalty box for interference, Nelson, with Jacob Larsson in front of him, fired a shot from the right faceoff circle that went over the glove of Mandolese at 7:13.
–Field Level Media
