NY Islanders 5, Winnipeg 2
When: 5:00 PM ET, Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Where: MTS Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Referees:
Brian Pochmara, Jean Hebert
Linesmen:
Steve Miller, Brad Lazarowich
Attendance:
15016
By SportsDirect Inc.
Islanders 5, Jets 2: Frans Nielsen scored two goals and set up another while Ryan Strome recorded a career-high four-point performance as New York won the opener of its season-high seven-game road trip.
Strome collected a goal and three assists while Anders Lee registered one of each for the Islanders, who improved to 6-1-1 in their last eight games and 5-0-1 in their last six trips to Winnipeg. Josh Bailey added an empty-net tally and Jaroslav Halak finished with 21 saves to win his sixth straight start.
Captain Andrew Ladd scored twice to match his output in the Jets' 4-3 victory at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Oct. 28. Bryan Little notched an assist to extend his point streak to five games and Ondrej Pavelec turned aside 28 shots for Winnipeg, which has dropped two in a row after posting a 4-0-1 mark in its previous five.
New York benefited from a pair of fortunate bounces to claim a 2-0 lead in the first period. Jets defenseman Adam Pardy's bid to clear the puck caromed off Strome before going into the net 10:04 into the contest and Boychuk shattered his stick on a slap shot but still had enough mustard on it to set up Nielsen's tap-in goal during a 5-on-3 advantage over eight minutes later.
Ladd converted a give-and-go with Blake Wheeler 4:41 into the second period to halve the deficit before Nielsen stole the puck from Chris Thorburn and deposited a pass from Strome into the net at 15:27. Ladd answered with a one-timer during a power play 47 seconds into the third, but Strome's shot caromed off two Jets and found Lee with 8:25 remaining to give New York a 4-2 lead.
GAME NOTEBOOK: New York improved to 8-0-1 in its last nine games played on New Year's Eve. ... Islanders captain John Tavares and RW Kyle Okposo saw their respective four-game point streaks come to an end. ... Little won 13-of-20 faceoffs.
Top Game Performances
| NY Islanders |
|
Winnipeg |
|
Ryan Strome 4 |
Points |
Andrew Ladd 2 |
|
Frans Nielsen 2 |
Goals |
Andrew Ladd 2 |
|
Ryan Strome 3 |
Assists |
Bryan Little 1 |
|
Frans Nielsen 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Andrew Ladd 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Jaroslav Halak .913 |
Save Percentage |
Ondrej Pavelec .875 |
|
Jaroslav Halak 21 |
Saves |
Ondrej Pavelec 28 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| NY Islanders
|
33 |
5 |
2-7 |
3-4 |
8 |
29 |
| Winnipeg
|
23 |
2 |
1-4 |
5-7 |
14 |
30 |
Upcoming Games
-
Winnipeg will play their next game at home against Toronto. The Jets have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .611 after a loss.
-
NY Islanders will play their next game on the road against Calgary. The Islanders have a W/L % of .750 after a win and .538 after a loss.
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