Recap: Aho, Halak Lead Isles 5-4 Win Over Devils

Without forwards Josh Bailey and Andrew Ladd at his disposal, Head Coach Doug Weight said someone else was going to have to step up to get the New York Islanders out of their losing streak.
Playing just his third NHL game, Sebastian Aho fit the bill as unlikely hero and the rookie defenseman came up big in the third period of Sunday's 5-4 comeback, shootout win over the New Jersey Devils.
BOXSCORE - PHOTO GALLERY

Down 4-2 midway through the third, Aho keyed the Islanders rally. His first-career goal, a seeing-eye wrister on the power play, made it 4-3 at 7:58 before he found Cal Clutterbuck with a hard slap pass across the zone for the tying goal. Aho got the Islanders to overtime and Brock Nelson eventually capped it, scoring the lone goal in a five-round shootout, as the Isles snapped a five-game losing streak.

"He's a poised kid," Clutterbuck said of Aho. "With him it's just a question of confidence and him being able to assert himself and feel like he can hold his own. For a kid who's played under five games, it's two great plays to make and something we needed obviously."
Aho said scoring his first goal was an unforgettable experience.
"I've dreamed about it since I was a little boy," Aho said. "It was a special moment."

The other key cog in Sunday's win was Jaroslav Halak, who made 42 saves in regulation and kept a clean sheet in the five-round shootout. Halak bookended the win with a spectacular start and finish, turning aside 15 shots in the opening six minutes and four in overtime. Sunday marked the eighth straight game where Halak had seen 35 or more shots.

"They throw a lot of pucks at the net, but just a great, really aggressive and confident effort," Weight said of his goalie. "The results haven't been there, it's been a really tough week, two weeks. This is one game, but it's a big one for us to go into the break. We're starting to feel Jaro's presence on a daily basis."

Halak was the crowbar holding the cellar doors shut during the Devils early storm, where they outshot the Islanders 15-1. The Isles emerged after the slow start, with Anders Lee opening the scoring with his 25th of the season. Travis Zajac scored a pair of goals in the second period, one to answer Lee's opener and another after Anthony Beauvillier put the Islanders ahead 2-1.
Beavillier, who was emergency recalled from Bridgeport Saturday, was skating in Ladd's place on the second line. Weight called it Beauvillier's best game of the season.
"[The AHL] is a great league and can revitalize a guy quickly," Weight said before the contest.

The Devils scored a pair of goals to take a 4-2 lead early in the third period, as Miles Wood and Taylor Hall scored 36 seconds apart. Nick Leddy's stick snapped in two on the play leading up to Hall's goal, a bad bounce that could have had the Isles stewing during their bye week had they not come back.
"I think we showed great character in the third," Aho said."They had two fast goals and we could've easily just laid down and given up, but we just stuck to the game plan and kept going and we got rewarded in the end."

NOTES:
Aho, Beauvillier and Tanner Fritz were all loaned to Bridgeport after the game as the Isles head into the bye week… The Islanders opened the scoring for the first time since Dec. 27 against Buffalo, which was also their last in-game lead… The Islanders picked up their eighth-straight home win over the Devils and improved to 13-1-1 in their last 15 games vs New Jersey… The Islanders PK went 5-for-5 on Sunday… Alan Quine played on the top line in place of Josh Bailey… Ryan Pulock wore a full face shield.
NEXT GAME:
The Islanders have a five-day break and return to action next Saturday vs the New York Rangers.
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