The game winning shot by Casey Cizikas #53 of the New York Islanders eludes Viktor Fasth #35 of the Edmonton Oilers at 15:23 of the third period at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on February 10, 2015 in Uniondale, New York. The Islanders defeated the Oilers 3-2.Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Casey Cizikas snapped a third-period tie with 4:37 left, and the New York Islanders pulled out a 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night.
The Oilers, who have the fewest victories in the NHL, appeared poised to win for the second straight night as they dominated the third period. But Jaroslav Halak stood tall in the New York net and prevented what would have been a disappointing loss for the Islanders.
Instead, Cizikas fired a shot past Viktor Fasth to give the Islanders their third win in four games. Colin McDonald, who assisted on the winning goal, and Josh Bailey also scored for New York. Halak made 34 saves.
Ryan Hamilton and Anton Lander had power-play goals for Edmonton, which held a 15-5 shots advantage in the third period. Fasth stopped 25 shots.
The Islanders have won eight straight home games against the Oilers, dating to 1999.
New York took a 2-1 lead with 8:33 left in the second period when defenceman Thomas Hickey's shot from the blue line hit Bailey in flight and fluttered past Fasth for his ninth goal. It was originally credited to Hickey, who hasn't scored a goal in 29 games, dating to the winner on Dec. 2 against Ottawa.
But again Edmonton used its suddenly potent power play to tie it.
After a scrum that landed Bailey in the penalty box, Lander took a pass in the slot from Jordan Eberle and netted his second goal of the season with 3:26 left in the second to make it 2-all. Eberle, the Oilers' leading scorer with 36 points, assisted on both Edmonton goals in a 2-1 win at New Jersey on Monday. He has three goals and four assists in his last six games.
The Oilers quickly took advantage of the NHL's worst penalty-killing team and grabbed a 1-0 lead on Hamilton's first career goal, just 23 seconds into the power play. Hamilton, recalled Tuesday from Oklahoma City of the AHL, tipped in a shot by Nail Yakupov at 10:17. Iiro Pakarinen earned the second assist, his first in the NHL and second career point.
Yakupov scored the game-winning, power-play goal in the Oilers' victory Monday. Edmonton entered Tuesday with the third-worst power play in the league.
The Islanders got even shortly after they failed to convert on their first power play. McDonald, in his second game since being recalled from the AHL last week, scored for the second consecutive game to make it 1-all at 13:20.
McDonald made a short backhand pass in front from the right post to Matt Martin for a shot. Fasth blocked the puck, but McDonald held his ground at the side of the net and was there to chip in the rebound.
NOTES: The Oilers recalled G Richard Bachman and Hamilton. Bachman was brought up because G Ben Scrivens tweaked a hamstring Monday. Hamilton was added for lineup depth in place of RW Matt Fraser. LW Benoit Pouliot (foot), who has missed three games, could return Thursday at Montreal. However, LW Taylor Hall, who has missed seven of eight games, has a bone injury in his foot and will be sidelined for six weeks. Pouliot and Hall were placed on the injured list Tuesday. ... Islanders RW Cal Clutterbuck, D Calvin de Haan and RW Michael Grabner skated Tuesday morning but all sat out due to what coach Jack Capuano called "bumps and bruises."