Islanders beat Lightning 3-1

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP)—Yann Danis is taking advantage of his starts in goal for New York Islanders as they play out another lost season.

Danis made 29 saves, and the Islanders snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night.

“You go through stretches where the puck doesn’t hit you,” Danis said. “It happens to all goalies, so I just have to battle through it.”

Coach Scott Gordon was pleased with Danis’ play.

“It definitely was a bounce back game for him,” Gordon said. “He felt pretty good.”

Richard Park, Radek Martinek and Josh Bailey scored for the Islanders, who took three of four meetings this season against Tampa Bay. Jesse Joensuu and Bruno Gervais each had a pair of assists.

Matt Pettinger had the only goal for the Lightning, losers of six straight (0-4-2).

Mike McKenna made 18 saves for Tampa Bay.

The Islanders scored 23 seconds after the opening faceoff. From the left side, Park spun around and sent a quick wrist shot past McKenna for his 14th goal of the season.

“I went down in a butterfly,” McKenna said. “It was just a technical error on my part.”

Tampa Bay came out firing pucks at Danis to start the second period, but he turned everything aside. Later in the period, the Islanders capitalized on a power play to take a 2-0 lead.

Off a faceoff, Martinek wound up with the puck at the right point. He moved to the top of the right circle and blasted a shot over McKenna’s glove-side shoulder at 14:52.

Pettinger got the Lightning on the board with a power-play goal at 16:36.

The Islanders gave themselves a bit of breathing room with another power-play goal, this time with Bailey connecting off a beautiful feed from Blake Comeau at 9:14 of the final period.

“It was a play we worked on a lot,” Bailey said. “It was a nice goal to get.”

The Lightning have not given up, even with their record and all the bodies missing because of injuries.

“For me personally, it’s the last year of my contract, so it’s make or break time for me,” McKenna said. “We at least show heart and courage out there. We play hard.”

Notes

The Islanders recalled five players from Bridgeport on an emergency basis: forwards Mitch Fritz, Mike Iggulden, Jesse Joensuu and Joel Rechlicz, and defenseman Jamie Fraser. Fraser made his NHL debut. … Tampa Bay recalled defenseman Vladimir Mihalik from Norfolk.

Isles 3 Phoenix 2

The Doaner scored one late for the Coyotes. Yann Danis had something like 40 saves for the win.

Isles will now begin a six-game road swing. It all begins Tuesday in Toronto.

Islanders Team Report from Yahoo Sports

With the fewest points in the NHL, the Islanders already will be playing for future jobs over their final 30 games.

But an official competition is shaping up for the right to back up starting goalie Rick DiPietro next season—a job that often entails a heavy workload because of the former All-Star’s frequent trips to the injured list, including his ongoing knee issues.

Joey MacDonald opened this season as DiPietro’s understudy and seemingly earned a new contract for 2009-10 with solid nightly play in starting 36 of 42 games before the All-Star break. But third-stringer Yann Danis has allowed three or fewer goals in seven of his last eight starts entering Tuesday’s home game against Los Angeles, and he appears to have gained the trust of head coach Scott Gordon.

“One thing about Yann, I think he’s taken it a step further than what Joey did,” Gordon said. “Not that Joey didn’t play well, but certainly, Yann, from a level of consistency, has been able to play like a guy that’s a true No. 1. That’s reflective of his numbers…to consistently give up less than three goals is what you expect a No. 1 guy to do, and that’s the type of performance he’s been able to give us.

“It goes hand in hand with his success. When you have that kind of goaltending, it certainly makes it easier for your team to know that, when you have those off moments, it’s going to stay tight.”

Lightning 1, Islanders 0: Yann Danis had won his previous four starts and certainly appeared in line for another, keeping the Islanders in a 0-0 tie with several acrobatic saves until late in the third period Saturday night in Tampa. Still, opposing goalie Mike McKenna ended up with his first shutout in just his third NHL start, as veteran Gary Roberts’ redirection goal with 6:26 remaining sent the last-overall Isles (16-31-5) to their second straight one-goal loss.

“It’s never fun to lose like that in the third,” said Danis, who made 27 saves. “We played a good game. We battled hard. There’s definitely some positives out of it.”

Notes, Quotes

• D Chris Campoli has been installed as the Isles’ power-play quarterback with All-Star D Mark Streit, the Isles’ leading scorer this season, sidelined the last two games with a shoulder injury.

“It was different. I’m in (Streit’s) position, and we’ve all seen he does such a great job every night,” Campoli told Newsday. “It’s definitely big shoes to fill, and I just tried to go out there and keep it simple.”

• LW Sean Bergenheim was activated off the injured list after missing the previous eight games with a strained muscle in his side suffered Jan. 13, replacing center Nate Thompson (shoulder) in the lineup.

Quote To Note: “Yann’s really stepped up. He’s given us a chance every time he’s played. It’s great to see a kid like that come in and play really well for us when he gets a chance.”—Defenseman Brendan Witt, on goalie Yann Danis, following a hard-luck 1-0 loss Saturday at Tampa Bay.

Player Notes:

• G Yann Danis lowered his goals-against average over his past five starts to 1.61, but he didn’t win for the first time in that stretch in a 1-0 loss Saturday in Tampa Bay.

• RW Trent Hunter’s four-game point streak (3-1-4) was halted.

• D Chris Campoli logged a team-high 24:19 of ice-time, including 5:40 of power-play time with No. 1 defenseman Mark Streit sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Medical Watch:

• G Rick DiPietro, who appeared in just five games due to multiple injuries, has been shut down for the remainder of the season with swelling in his surgically repaired left knee.

• D Mark Streit sat out his second straight game Saturday against Tampa Bay with a shoulder injury and remains day-to-day.

• D Thomas Pock also has missed the last two games with a hand injury suffered Feb. 3 against Tampa Bay.

• D Freddy Meyer remains out indefinitely with a groin strain suffered Jan. 5 in Edmonton.

• C Mike Sillinger underwent season-ending hip surgery for the second straight season on Jan. 26.

• D Andy Sutton suffered a broken right foot on a blocked shot Dec. 19 in Minnesota and underwent surgery. He is expected to miss 8-to-10 weeks.

• C Nate Thompson was placed on the injured list after suffering a shoulder injury Feb. 5 against Florida.

Capitals 2 Islanders 1 -- OT

Well, the good news is that the Isles got a point against the Capitals. Ovechkin had 2 goals and Kyle Okposo scored on the power play for the Isles.

WHAT I LIKED: Okposo. You see today that he's just scored his sixth goal and that doesn't sound great or anything but over the year, Kyle has seriously improved. He's made the proverbial leaps and bounds. He's aggressive and always going to the net. He's confident on the puck and we also get to see that burst of speed that we all had heard about. He clearly missed playing the point on the power play with Doug Weight but he is making pretty good decisions with the puck on his stick from the point. There are hiccups as he learns but overall, seeing the improvement since he's returned from injury bodes well for the future of the team.

Nate Thompson and Tim Jackman: these two guys know how to play within themselves; Billy Jaffe talked about it during today's game. They keep everything simple, play to their strengths, and give the team good energy from the fourth line.

Yann Danis: he made some excellent stops today and really reigned in those rebounds. Probably played his strongest game as an Islander.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: the cheap slashing call on Brendan Witt in overtime. It was totally ticky-tack and a hard call to make in overtime. It really shouldn't have been called. And yes, with Witt off the ice, that allowed Ovechkin a lot more room without 32 riding him all over the ice.

The Isles are back to entertain the Ducks on Wednesday and then they're off until the following Thursday in Atlanta.

Blue Jackets claim G Dubielewicz off waivers - - WTF?

COLUMBUS, OHIO (TICKER) —The plight of the New York Islanders continues.

Two days after the Islanders signed Wade Dubielewicz due to injuries to Rick DiPietro and Joey MacDonald, the goaltender was claimed off waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.

With DiPietro and MacDonald sidelined, New York was forced to use third-stringer Yann Danis in Thursday’s 2-1 loss to the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Bruins. It was the sixth consecutive setback for the struggling Islanders and 18th in 20 games.

Seeking a more experienced option in net, New York turned to Dubielewicz, who had spent his entire professional career in the Islanders’ organization before signing with Ak Bars Kazan of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League last summer.

In order for the 29-year-old native of Invermere, British Columbia to return to New York, he needed to clear NHL waivers on which he was placed Friday. But with Pascal Leclaire currently on injured reserve, leaving their goaltending duties to rookies Steve Mason and Dan LaCosta, the Blue Jackets pulled the rug from under the Islanders and claimed Dubielewicz, who posted an 11-8-3 mark with a 2.77 GAA in 21 games with Ak Bars Kazan.

Signed by New York as an undrafted free agent in May 2003, the product of the University of Denver owns a 16-13-2 record with a 2.55 GAA and .920 save percentage in 37 career games with the Islanders. Last season, he went 9-9-1 with a 2.70 GAA in 20 contests.

To make room for Dubielewicz, Columbus assigned LaCosta to Syracuse of the American Hockey League.

The 22-year-old LaCosta has appeared in one game for the Blue Jackets this season, allowing two goals on 19 shots in 35 minutes of relief action in a 6-3 loss to the Nashville Predators on October 18. A third-round pick in 2004, the 6-1, 186-pound native of Labrador City, Newfoundland has posted a 12-11-2 record with one shutout and a 2.72 GAA in 28 contests with Syracuse.

LaCosta made his NHL debut last campaign, turning aside all five shots he faced in 13 minutes of relief duty on March 25 in a 3-0 loss - also to Nashville.

To back up Danis against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, the Islanders recalled Peter Mannino from Bridgeport of the AHL.

Mannino, 24, made his NHL debut on November 28, allowing three goals on eight shots in 13 minutes of action in a 7-2 loss to Boston. In 21 games with the Sound Tigers, the 6-foot, 195-pound native of Farmington Hills, Michigan has gone 9-9-2 with one shutout and a 3.09 goals-against average.

Newsday's Greg Logan reports that DP is injured. Are we not surprised?

From Newsday:

DiPietro's out -- again

One game into his comeback from a second knee operation in a span of five months, Islanders goaltender Rick DiPietro is hurt again. He took part in the pre-game skate today at Madison Square Garden but will miss tonight's game against the Rangers with a strained groin.

Yann Danis, who was sent back to Bridgeport yesterday, was recalled on an emergency basis this afternoon to back up Joey MacDonald. At this point, it seems all information regarding DiPietro's ailments is suspect until you either see him in the lineup or not.