Thursday, March 7, 2019 07:30 PM (ET)

Isles sweep Sens, move back into first

Field Level Media
Mar 7, 2019

Anthony Beauvillier scored the tiebreaking goal late in the third period Thursday night and the New York Islanders who moved back into a tie for first place in the Metropolitan Division with a 4-2 win over the host Ottawa Senators.

Beauvillier put home the rebound of a shot by Adam Pelech with 7:31 remaining for the Islanders, who completed a home-and-home sweep of the Senators. New York earned a 5-4 shootout win Tuesday night at Nassau Coliseum.

Valtteri Filppula scored twice in the first period and Casey Cizikas added an empty-netter in the final minute of the third for the Islanders, who have the exact same record (39-21-7) as the Washington Capitals. The two teams are scheduled to play each other in Washington in the regular-season finale Apr. 6.

Goalie Thomas Greiss made 35 saves for the win.

Brady Tkachuk and Oscar Lindberg scored for the Senators, who have the fewest points in the NHL (52). Goalie Anders Nilsson made 27 saves as Ottawa fell to 1-2-1 under interim head coach Marc Crawford.

Filppula put the Islanders ahead early in the first when he took a backhanded pass from Leo Komarov and backhanded a shot that went past Senators defenseman Christian Wolanin and sailed beyond the glove of Nilsson, who was screened by New York left winger Ross Johnston at the 5:44 mark.

The Senators needed just 76 seconds to tie the score when Tkachuk, who was battling for position in front of the net with Islanders center Brock Nelson, stuck his stick out and got a piece of a shot by Ben Harpur before the puck fluttered past Greiss.

A turnover by the Senators deep in their own zone led to Filppula's second goal with 4:36 left in the first. Tom Kuhnhackl pounced on the loose puck and passed from behind the Ottawa net to Filppula, who beat Nilsson from point-blank range. It was the second two-goal game of the season for Filppula and the 15th of his career, though he is still seeking his first NHL hat trick.

The Senators tied the game following a chaotic sequence shortly before the midway point of the second period. A shot by right winger Bobby Ryan caromed off center Brian Gibbons and the puck bounced around in the crease before Lindberg swooped in and put home the rebound.

--Field Level Media

Covers 25 Years Logo Established in 1995,
Covers is the world
leader in sports
betting information.
Covers is verified safe by: Evalon Logo GPWA Logo GDPR Logo GeoTrust Logo Evalon Logo