The New York Islanders began their four-game road stand with a rough start, albeit to an admittedly hot Ottawa Senators squad. Counting Sunday's win, the Sens have scored at least five goals in four of their last five games. Over that span, defenseman Erik Karlsson has 17 points, picking up two more on two assists against the Isles.
Both came on powerplays in the second quarter, just four minutes apart. Karlsson fed Milan Michalek for a backhanded goal in front of the net to tie the game. He gave the puck to Jason Spezza at the top of the left circle for a slapshot to take the lead for the Senators.
John Tavares put the Islanders on the board first with an assist from P.A. Parenteau on a 2-on-1 less than one minute into the game. They wouldn't score again until midway through the third period, by which point the Senators had already built up a 3-1 lead. This time Parenteau found the net on an 18-foot snap shot, but the Islanders couldn't build on the momentum. The Senators scored two more, including an empty netter with just over two minutes left to play.
Evgeni Nabokov struggled in net, turning back just 19 of 23 shots against. Robin Lehner fared much better on the Ottawa end, with 28 saves on the night.
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