Bellows scores twice, Islanders rally past Devils for eighth straight win

NEWARK, N.J.--
Kieffer Bellows
scored twice in the third period for the New York Islanders, who won their eighth straight game, 3-2 against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Saturday.

Bellows, in the lineup for the first time since Feb. 18 after forward Anders Lee sustained a lower-body injury Thursday, tied it 2-2 on a snap shot from the left face-off circle at 1:59, then gave New York the lead when he powered his way to the net from the right wing and stuffed a shot past Mackenzie Blackwood at 5:10 to make it 3-2.
"It's obviously been a while, but I just wanted to go out there and work hard and grind down low ... just be responsible," Bellows said. "It was a good team effort to get the win, so that's the most important thing."
Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves for the Islanders (18-6-4), who have the longest active winning streak in the NHL and extended their point streak to 11 games (10-0-1).
"I thought we could have easily lost the game; I didn't like our battle for the first two periods," New York coach Barry Trotz said. "I thought Varlamov was by far our best player. Our forwards didn't have enough bite in their game and I thought our defense corps bailed them out, [along] with our goaltending."
Blackwood made 26 saves for the Devils (8-13-3), who lost a New Jersey-record 10th straight home game in regulation. It has not won here since a 2-0 victory against the Islanders on Jan. 24.
The teams play here again Sunday.
"We had some opportunities to maybe execute a little better in some situations and that kind of got us in trouble a little bit in the third," Devils forward Travis Zajac said. "But they're also a structured team. They thrive in these tight games, so we have to just do a better job with the lead. We've got a chance to come back tomorrow and put in a good effort."

Pavel Zacha gave the Devils a 1-0 lead on a wrist shot from the slot at 6:37 of the first period. It came shortly after Blackwood made five saves during an Islanders power play.
Oliver Wahlstrom collected a rebound by Varlamov in his own zone and skated the length of the ice before scoring on a snap shot from the high slot to tie it 1-1 at 17:58.
"I was fortunate to get into the middle of the ice there and rip that one home," Wahlstrom said. "I think it brought a little life. I was fortunate that it went in."
Janne Kuokkanen scored while falling to the ice on a shot at the right post at 1:04 of the second period to give the Devils a 2-1 lead.
"We created some chances, but I think we just need more end-zone time," Zajac said. " ... I think we can still do a better job of that. To win in this league you need four lines, you need six defensemen. It's got to be team effort, night in and night out, to win games."

Bellows scored his first two goals this season. He replaced Lee on the Islanders' top line with Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle.
"Kieffer was handed the ball at the start of the year and did OK, but then we started rolling a little bit and he had to sit," Trotz said. "He's trying to make a statement and he seized it for one game, so let's see if he can do it again.
"But I was impressed. I was impressed with his positional play, was impressed with the goals he scored. That line was really good tonight."
NOTES: The Devils' home skid is tied for the fifth-longest in NHL history with the Ottawa Senators (1995-96) and Tampa Bay Lightning (1997-98); the Pittsburgh Penguins hold the record with 14 straight home losses, set from Dec. 31, 2003-Feb. 22, 2004. … New Jersey was 0-for-3 on the power play and is 0-for-22 in its past eight games; New York was 0-for-4 and is 1-for-17 in its past seven. … Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech was plus-3 for a second straight game. … Devils defenseman Dmitry Kulikov played his 700th NHL game. He had one shot in 22:10 of ice time. ... Referee Justin St. Pierre sustained an upper-body injury in the first period, and the remainder of the game was played with one referee and two linesmen.