Late goals by Hamonic, Tavares lead Isles over Senators 5-2
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) - The New York Islanders hadn't played a game in five days, but if there was rust, it didn't show.
Travis Hamonic and John Tavares each had a goal and an assist in the third period and the Islanders defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-2 on Friday night.
"Overall it was a good road win, especially coming off a bit of a layoff, and it will be good if we can carry this momentum forward," Tavares said.
Hamonic beat Andrew Hammond with a slap shot at 2:58 of the third to give New York a 3-2 lead and Tavares slipped a backhand past Hammond at 7:03 for some insurance.
It's been a rough couple days for the Ottawa Senators, who gave up five first-period goals on Thursday night in a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils.
"We're struggling with the details and it has nothing to do with effort or caring, it's a matter of executing," said Hammond, who had 29 saves in the loss.
Kyle Okposo scored on a bank shot off the backside of Ottawa defenseman Jared Cowen to finish the scoring.
Nick Leddy and Cal Clutterbuck also scored for the Islanders while Jaroslav Halak made 28 saves for the win.
"We did a good job coming out of our own end, something that's been better for us lately, and it gives guys up front some time to make some plays and create some room," Tavares said. "I thought we had a pretty good first period and eventually it paid off."
Bobby Ryan and Erik Karlsson had goals for the Senators, who were coming off a five-game, 12-day road trip.
Ottawa also lost winger Milan Michalek to a broken finger after blocking a shot.
Michalek was playing just his eighth game after missing 16 with a broken finger on the same right hand from blocking a shot on Dec. 1.
"It's incredible, isn't it?" Ryan said of the injury. "It's frustrating because Milo came back and brought some energy and some leadership. It's extremely unlucky for him and extremely unfortunate for us."
The Islanders had the only three power plays and the only goal of the first period.
Ottawa killed the second and third penalties, but the first lasted just 19 seconds after New York scored.
With Erik Karlsson in the box for holding, Leddy took a drop pass from Frans Nielsen and took a one-timer from the slot that beat Hammond stick side at 3:49.
The Senators got their first power just three seconds into the second when Matt Martin tripped Ryan off the period-opening faceoff.
Ottawa failed to score with the man advantage, but just two seconds after it ended, Ryan tied the game with a snap shot from the face-off circle.
The Senators took a 2-1 lead at 10:51 when Karlsson sneaked in from the point and beat Halak off a pass from behind the net by Curtis Lazar.
The jubilation was short lived. Just 19 seconds later, Clutterback evened the score as Karlsson's goal was still being announced.
Notes: Kyle Turris missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury. Other scratches for the Senators were Marc Methot and Alex Chiasson while Steve Bernier, Scott Mayfield and Jean-Francois Berube were scratches for the Islanders. . A third-period slashing penalty gave Senators forward Chris Neil 2,400 penalty minutes for his career. ... Jaroslav Halak improved to 12-8-4 on the year while Andrew Hammond fell to 3-5-2. ... The Senators are home again Sunday afternoon when they host the New York Rangers while the Islanders return home to face the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday.