ANAHEIM, Calif. — Kyle Palmieri had a career-high four points with one goal and three assists, Brock Nelson had two goals and linemate Pierre Engvall also scored in the New York Islanders’ 6-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks Wednesday night.
Nelson scored the game-changing goal late in the second half and added another in the third to secure his second straight 30-goal season for the Islanders, who slipped in two games. Engvall reached his career high with his 15th goal, scoring in his third straight game for the Isles, who signed the Sweden winger from Toronto two weeks ago.
Palmieri, 32, scored four points for the first time in his 724-game NHL career, which began with five seasons in Anaheim. The Ducks picked Palmieri in the first round in 2009.
“It feels good to just do it,” Palmieri said after his recent return to Anaheim, where he always receives a hearty ovation. “It doesn’t matter where it was. Our line grew and was able to make a positive contribution. … (Engvall) fits in well with us and it’s clear he’s working hard.”
Hudson Fasching and Zach Parise also scored and Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves in a comeback for New York, who had been surpassed 10-3 in their first straight regular losses since January. The Isles faced the NHL’s worst defensive team at the Honda Center and put on their best performance since Jan. 3.
“I thought our line did a lot of good things,” Nelson said. “It was probably best for us to get going right away (after being routed from Los Angeles on Tuesday). Those two points are huge for us.”
PHOTOS: Palmieri and Nelson lead the Islanders 6-3 against the Anaheim Ducks
New York is tied with Pittsburgh and five points ahead of Florida at the top of the Eastern Conference wildcard standings, but the Penguins and Panthers both have three games in their hands on the islands.
Kevin Shattenkirk scored twice and Max Jones struck 25 seconds into the opening game for the Ducks, who have lost four of five despite scoring a point in eight of their previous nine games. John Gibson stopped 17 shots in Anaheim’s second straight loss to open his eight-game homestand.
“We made some really big strides here, but we took a step back tonight,” Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said. “We just couldn’t get out of there. We have to get back to the game we played.”
Jones defeated Sorokin for his sixth goal of the season after being left all alone in the slot in the first minute, but Palmieri later equalized in the first minute with a cross-ice pass from Engvall.
Trevor Zegras then made a magical through-leg pass to himself to maintain possession of the puck before delivering a pass to Shattenkirk for the defender’s third goal of the season.
“The boy is skilled,” Eakins said of Zegras. “Everything comes naturally to him.”
Shattenkirk added a power play goal in the third period for the sixth two-goal game of his long career.
Nelson put the Islanders ahead for good when he ripped a one-timer past Gibson with 23 seconds left in the second period for his 29th goal.
The Ducks announced goaltender Anthony Stolarz will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery on Tuesday. Stolarz only played 19 games for the NHL’s worst defensive team this season, most recently on Feb. 7.
NEXT
Islanders: On Saturday in San Jose.
Ducks: Host Columbus on Friday.
Source : www.washingtontimes.com