Tkachuk, Flames rally to defeat Islanders

NEW YORK -- Matthew Tkachuk's second goal of the game broke a tie with 1:05 remaining in the third period and gave the Calgary Flames a 3-2 win against the New York Islanders at Barclays Center on Sunday.
Tkachuk put the Flames ahead for the first time in the game when he redirected Travis Hamonic's shot from the right point past Jaroslav Halak. It was Hamonic's first game against the Islanders since they traded him to Calgary on June 24, 2017. Hamonic played his first 444 NHL games with New York.

"It'd be better if I scored it, I guess," Hamonic said. "Take everything else out of what was happening, it was a hockey game. We're basically in the same spot as they are in the standings. It's a tight race."
Mark Jankowski also scored for Calgary (29-19-8), which moved into third place in the Pacific Division and is 3-1-0 on its six-game road trip.
WATCH: [All Flames vs. Islanders highlights]
Mike Smith made 23 saves but sustained what appeared to be a lower-body injury with 1.1 seconds remaining. David Rittich finished the game.
Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said during his postgame press conference that Smith was still being evaluated.
"It's tough. You never want to see it," Gulutzan said. "We'll deal with it when we know exactly what we're dealing with. It would be a huge blow for our team. Arguably our MVP, right? It'd be a big blow for us, but he's a guy that takes such good care of himself that we're hoping this will be minor. But if it isn't, we've got other guys that can come in and we just have to carry on, like lots of other teams have had to do this year."
Tkachuk tied it 2-2 at 9:38 of the third period when he was left alone in front and redirected a pass from Michael Frolik behind Halak.

"It was definitely nice to get the win when we were trailing going into the third," Tkachuk said. "We got a couple of great plays with some guys to get the puck towards the net and just to be around the net."
Jankowski one-timed Sam Bennett's feed past Halak for a power-play goal at 10:35 of the second period to make it 2-1. It came with one second remaining on a holding penalty to Islanders forward Jason Chimera.
Casey Cizikas and Anthony Beauvillier scored for New York (27-24-6), which blew a 2-0 lead and has not won consecutive games since a three-game streak from Jan. 7-15. The Islanders remained one point out of the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Halak made 39 saves.
"We were just on our heels. They pushed harder than we did," Islanders captain John Tavares said. "They just executed better and forced us to have to defend and just kind of have to survive some shifts. We obviously let them get some chances and get the victory."
Cizikas gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 3:08 of the first period when he got control of the puck at in right circle following a turnover by TJ Brodie and managed to poke the puck between Smith's pads while falling down. It was his seventh goal of the season.
Beauvillier scored his 13th at 2:59 of the second period when he took a pass from Mathew Barzal and beat Smith with a wrist shot from the slot to make it 2-0.

Defenseman Nick Leddy also had an assist on Beauvillier's goal to extend his point streak to five games.

Goal of the game

Tkachuk' go-ahead goal at 18:55 of the third period.

Save of the game

Smith's save against Ross Johnston at 12:20 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Cizikas' goal at 3:08 of the first period.

They said it

"The video was really touching. To get that ovation in warmup and during the video and the respect the Islanders showed as well by all getting up, it meant a lot. I happy the game started playing right away again." -- Flames defenseman Travis Hamonic
"We played well for 40 minutes and then got away from what made us successful. We let them take the play to us, plain and simple. We didn't get pucks in deep. We're working hard, but we're not working smart." -- Islanders forward Casey Cizikas

Need to know

Flames forward Ryan Lomberg left the game after a fight with Johnston in the first period and did not return as a precaution. … Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck left the game early in the third period after taking Curtis Lazar's stick to his throat. … New York has allowed at least 37 shots on goal in 19 of its past 23 games.

What's next

Flames: At the Boston Bruins on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, NESN, SNW, NHL.TV)
Islanders: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, FS-O, NHL.TV)