Islanders score twice in 3rd period for win against Sabres

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Hudson Fasching broke a tie in the third period for the New York Islanders in a 3-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres at UBS Arena on Tuesday.

Fasching gave New York the lead at 7:37 on a redirection off his left knee from Josh Bailey. The goal was initially waved off for a kicking motion but was awarded following a video review.
"I'll take it," Fasching said. "I'm always thinking it's a goal, right? Obviously, I'm always rooting for it to be a goal. I didn't think I kicked it, but it's the officials call. So, [I'm] glad they got it right."

Fasching, Bailey and Casey Cizikas each had a goal and an assist, and Alexander Romanov had two assists for the Islanders (33-25-8), who are 5-1-1 in their past seven games. Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves.
New York, which holds the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, moved six points ahead of Buffalo, which has played three fewer games. The Islanders remained one point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who rallied for a 5-4 overtime win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
"It was a much-needed win," Cizikas said. "We know what we have to do to win, and we have a group in here that has been through a lot together. We're playing the right way."
Dylan Cozens and Kyle Okposo scored for the Sabres (32-27-4), who also lost 3-2 at home to the Edmonton Oilers on Monday. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 36 saves.

Buffalo has lost four of five (1-4-0).
"We knew how big of a game it was," said Okposo, the Sabres captain. "I just think fatigue set in a little bit in the second [period], just kind of mental fatigue, and we just started to make some mistakes. But we battled hard. We had chances to win the game and tie the game back up and capitalize."
Cozens gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 5:00 of the second period. He collected the puck in the neutral zone, raced past New York defensemen Adam Pelech and Scott Mayfield, and beat Sorokin with a wrist shot from the edge of the right face-off circle for his 25th goal of the season.
Cizikas tied it 1-1 at 12:38 with a one-timer of Fasching's feed from behind the net. It was his first goal since Jan. 14 (22 games).
New York outshot Buffalo 17-7 in the second.

Bailey gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 1:51 of the third period when he scored on rebound. He has two goals and two assists during a three-game point streak.
"You just can't say enough about him," Lambert said of Bailey. "He's a quality, character individual who comes to work no matter what. Sometimes maybe it's not exactly what he's looking for [or] what he wants, but at the end of the day, he just comes out and does his job. Full respect for him, and I'm glad he was rewarded."
Okposo tied it 2-2 at 4:59 on a redirection of a shot from Owen Power. It was his first goal since Jan. 14 (22 games).
"Unfortunately, this is what gaining experience is all about," Buffalo coach Don Granato said. "These are the hard lessons you learn, and that's a big, big next step for us."
NOTES:The Islanders have won 11 straight at home against the Sabres, dating to the 2016-17 season. … It was Fasching's first NHL multipoint game. … New York has outscored opponents 15-1 in the third period in the past nine games. … The Islanders are 6-0-2 when Bailey scores this season. … Sabres forward Tyson Jost had one shot on goal in 12:14 of ice time after missing one game with an undisclosed injury.