Nedeljkovic helps Red Wings defeat Islanders, end three-game skid

DETROIT --Alex Nedeljkovic made 33 saves for the Detroit Red Wings in a 2-1 win against the New York Islanders at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday.

"The guys were great in front of me, so this was a much easier game than it looks like from the shot totals," Nedeljkovic said. "They ended up taking a lot of shots from the outside instead of getting right in front of me."
Dylan Larkin and Michael Rasmussen scored for Detroit (14-12-3), which ended a three-game losing streak. The Red Wings were outscored 18-7 during the skid.
"I thought we were much better defensively than we had been in the last few games," Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. "We were creating a lot of chances offensively and playing well on the defensive end."

Ilya Sorokin made 37 saves for the Islanders (7-12-5), who had won two of three following an 11-game losing stretch (0-8-3).
Nedeljkovic came within 2:33 of a shutout before Anders Lee tipped in a point shot with Sorokin pulled for the 2-1 final.
"I think there was just too many lapses in our own end that gave them some opportunities to keep momentum," Lee said. " … We ended up chasing for too much of the game tonight. The third period was a lot better, but we've got to find a way to be like that all 60 (minutes)."
New York nearly scored first at 3:15 of the second period, but Anthony Beauvillier missed an open net with Nedeljkovic out of position.
Larkin ended a seven-game goal drought at 10:32 with a point shot that went off Sorokin's blocker for a power-play goal to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead.
The Islanders used their timeout at 13:05 of the second period before Nedeljkovic had to make a save against Beauvillier on a 3-on-1 break at 19:37, and Robin Salo hit the post five seconds later.
"We had played a great second period and then we made one mistake right at the end," Blashill said. "Luckily, Alex made the save, because it would have been really tough to give one up in the last few seconds."

Detroit outshot New York 18-9 in the second.
"I thought the first period was pretty even and we were really good for the first eight minutes of the second," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. "After that, we failed on a couple exits and had some long shifts back-to-back, so it kind of snowballed on us."
Rasmussen made it 2-0 at 12:55 of the third period on a 2-on-1 break.
"We could have easily been up by more than one goal after the second period," Blashill said. "At that point, you don't want to get frustrated, start forcing things and make a mistake. I think we probably sat back a little too much, but we took advantage of a chance to get that second goal."
NOTES: The Islanders were without top-line center Mathew Barzal, who was placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol earlier in the day. Trotz said Barzal was expected to stay in Detroit. … Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi played 17:12 and had five shots on goal after missing five games in COVID-19 protocol. … Detroit rookie defenseman Moritz Seider had an assist for his 20th point of the season in his 29th game.