Tuesday, Jan. 23 7:30pm ET
Vanbiesbrouck makes 35 stops in defeat
RECAP
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BOX SCORE
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) -- The first-place Ottawa Senators were
afraid of the last-place New York Islanders.
|  | | Senators goalie Patrick Lalime leaves the crease to check the Islanders' Jason Blake. |
Martin Havlat put Ottawa's fears aside when he scored the
go-ahead goal with 3.9 seconds left in the second period as the
Senators edged New York 3-2 Tuesday night and took over first place
in the Eastern Conference.
"We knew this was not going to be an easy game," Ottawa coach
Jacques Martin said. "They're a hard-working team."
Ottawa came out with good effort in the first period, and
capitalized at 7:22 when Alexei Yashin put in a rebound of Shawn
McEachern's backhander that hit the right post.
New York tied it at 15:05 when Claude Lapointe scored for the
first time in 26 games. He chipped a bouncing pass from Bill
Muckalt, and the puck rose over goalie Patrick Lalime's left
shoulder for Lapointe's 100th NHL goal.
The Senators answered at 18:12, as McEachern lifted a rebound
under the crossbar.
"I just got it and flipped it high," McEachern said.
New York evened it 2:03 into the second period when Mark Parrish
tipped a pass from the right point by Garry Galley past Lalime, who
was moving over to cover.
Havlat's eventual winner came when defenseman Jason York
kept the puck in the Islanders zone on a clearing attempt and sent
it behind the net to Radek Bonk. Bonk found Havlat in tight to the
left side of goalie John Vanbiesbrouck and his quick one-timer
found its way in the short side.
"They had the puck behind the net, and Bonk used the net to his
advantage," Vanbiesbrouck said. "Usually, on a setup like that
with so little time left, the wingers are out further in the
circle. I don't know how he found (Havlat) and I don't know how it
got in. It was just a bang-bang play."
The timing of the goal was a factor on both sides.
"It was a huge goal, especially because it's deflating to the
other team," McEachern said.
Said Vanbiesbrouck: "We knew we had the whole third period to
maybe get the tie-er. It's a hard goal to come back from, though."
The Islanders had a few chances in the third period, including a
goal-mouth scramble in the closing moments of the game, but
couldn't put the puck past Lalime, who wound up with 22 saves.
Ottawa had nothing but praise for Vanbiesbrouck, who made 35
saves in the losing effort.
"Vanbiesbrouck played really solid tonight," York said.
McEachern said the Islanders are tough to play against.
"They've got more speed than they used to," McEachern said.
"Their defense is huge in terms of size, and Vanbiesbrouck plays
well."
Game notes
Ottawa is 10-3-4 at Nassau Coliseum. ... In the four
meetings between the teams last season, 34 Islanders skaters suited
up for at least one contest, and three goalies were used. Ottawa
dressed 26 skaters and two goaltenders. ... Craig Berube played his
fifth contest with the Islanders and the 900th of his NHL career.
... The game marked the first of six straight on the road for the
Senators. ... The New York Post reported that Vanbiesbrouck said he
wanted to be traded to a contending team. Vanbiesbrouck vigorously
denied the report at the team's morning skate.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Ottawa Clubhouse
NY Islanders Clubhouse
Beezer tells Islanders, coach he doesn't want trade
RECAPS
Columbus 2
Buffalo 1
St. Louis 5
Montreal 2
Ottawa 3
NY Islanders 2
Washington 5
Tampa Bay 2
Nashville 4
Atlanta 3
Phoenix 4
Calgary 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Shawn McEachern's shot hits the post, but Alexei Yashin puts in the rebound.
avi: 871 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
The Islanders' Claude Lapointe scores his 100th career goal.
avi: 461 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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