Devils top Islanders, end six-game losing streak

NEW YORK -- Damon Severson scored two goals to help the New Jersey Devils end a six-game losing streak with a 4-1 win against the New York Islanders at Barclays Center on Tuesday.
Keith Kinkaid made 25 saves for New Jersey (23-12-8), which had gone 0-3-3 since a 3-1 victory on Dec. 27 against the Detroit Red Wings.

"We needed it," Severson said. "I wouldn't say we were going to be too desperate of a team, but we really wanted to get back on track and find a way to start winning games. Whether we went to overtimes and lost or shootouts and lost, it doesn't matter. A win's a win and the two points is what counts at the end of the day. This one felt good and hopefully we can get on the right track now."
\[WATCH: All Devils vs. Islanders highlights\]
Despite getting three of a possible 12 points during the losing streak, the win Tuesday moved New Jersey into second place in the Metropolitan Division, one point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
"We felt like three of those games [during the streak], we were the better team," Devils defenseman Andy Greene said. "We gave up bad goals at bad times. But we stayed positive, we kept working and it was nice to get rewarded tonight."
Kinkaid, who grew up on Long Island in Farmingville, New York, was named the starter a few hours before the game after Cory Schneider became ill.
"It's fun getting a win against your hometown team," Kinkaid said. "I'm sure I'll have a few texts from a few buddies."
Anders Lee scored for New York (23-19-4), which had won three in a row. Jaroslav Halak made 38 saves.

"I think we were pretty mentally tired early," Islanders coach Doug Weight said. "That was pretty evident with some of our decisions."
Severson broke a 1-1 tie with two goals in 1:26 in the second period. He gave New Jersey the lead with a slap shot from the right face-off circle at 12:58 before beating Halak from the point at 14:24.

Lee scored 1:39 into the first period when he blocked John Moore's shot at the Islanders blue line, skated in on a breakaway and put a wrist shot past Kinkaid to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead. It was Lee's 26th goal of the season and second in four games.
Kyle Palmieri tied it with a power-play goal at 15:20 when he one-timed Sami Vatanen's feed from the left face-off circle to make it 1-1. It was Palmieri's third goal in the past four games.
Taylor Hall gave New Jersey a 4-1 lead at 18:20 of the second period on a 2-on-1 with Nico Hischier with a soft shot that found its way past Halak. Hall extended his point streak to five games.

The Islanders, who have been hit hard by the injury bug in recent weeks and lost forward Shane Prince in the second period because of an upper-body injury, allowed 42 shots on goal after giving up 56 in their 5-4 overtime win at the Montreal Canadiens on Monday.
"You can say makeshift, you can say whatever you want; the fact is we have seven, now eight guys out," Weight said. "Listen, no one has a violin here. I'm not looking for it. But it's tough."

Goal of the game

Severson's goal at 12:58 of the second period.

Save of the game

Kinkaid's pad save against Jordan Eberle at 7:29 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Palmieri's power-play goal at 15:20 of the first period.

They said it

"You could tell this morning [Schneider] wasn't feeling too well. He's our starting goalie, so he's going to let us know if he's ready to go. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to, but two capable goalies is what we've got. For [Kinkaid] to find out late and contribute like he did, he had a really strong game, so it was great to see." -- Devils defenseman Damon Severson
"We've got to regroup, get some guys back. We're a little decimated right now, but every team goes through situations like this throughout the year. We're no different." -- Islanders forward Anders Lee

Need to know

With Schneider unavailable, goalie Ken Appleby was recalled from Binghamton of the American Hockey League. Defenseman Steven Santini was sent to Binghamton. … Greene received his first fighting major in his 749th NHL game. He fought Islanders forward Brock Nelson at the end of the first period. It was also Nelson's first fight in 362 NHL games. "We were just battling hard in front of the net and he asked me to go," Greene said. "I said, 'sure,' and then I blacked out after that."… Weight did not have an update on Prince's injury.

What's next

Devils:Host the Washington Capitals on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, NBCSWA, NHL.TV)
Islanders: Host the Boston Bruins on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN360, MSG+ 2, NESN, NHL.TV)