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BOX SCORE
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) -- John Vanbiesbrouck stole a game for the
New York Islanders.
Vanbiesbrouck made 36 saves, including all 24 in the final 40
minutes, as the Islanders rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat the
New Jersey Devils 3-2 on Wednesday night.
"I love it," Vanbiesbrouck said. "It showed we can dig in our
heels and come back against the Devils."
The opening 20 minutes all went New Jersey's way, as it took 14
of the 16 shots in the period and left the ice with the 2-0 lead.
Patrik Elias opened the scoring 84 seconds into the game when he
finished off a play that started with a missed pass in New York's
zone. Jason Arnott passed to Petr Sykora, who quickly fed Elias,
who sent a wrist shot past Vanbiesbrouck.
Sykora made it 2-0 when he blasted a slap shot from the top of
the left circle between Vanbiesbrouck's pads.
After the period, Islanders coach Butch Goring criticized his
players in the locker room.
"The first period was pretty embarrassing for us,"
Vanbiesbrouck said. "Butch gave it to us pretty good, and
fortunately, we responded."
The Islanders surprised both the Devils and themselves when they
capitalized on two New Jersey defensive zone turnovers to tie the
game in a 16-second span.
Dave Scatchard made it 2-1 at 7:22 when defenseman Colin White
fanned on a pass. Bill Muckalt grabbed the puck and quick-passed
over to Scatchard, who beat goalie Chris Terreri with a wrist shot.
Before the 11,126 could stop cheering, the Islanders tied it
when Bobby Holik bobbled a pass. Tim Connolly pounced on the puck
and quickly fired a 35-foot slap shot from the left side that hit
the upper right corner.
"I think it was more of a case of that they were forced to give
up those pucks on our forecheck," Scatchard said. "It was nice to
see us capitalize."
It wasn't nice for New Jersey coach Larry Robinson to see.
"We were in total control in the first period, and then we let
them back into the game by sitting back," Robinson said. "Those
two goals took the wind out of us."
The Islanders broke the tie at 4:59 of the final period during a
power play. Kenny Jonsson had the puck at the red line along the
left boards and flipped a pass straight ahead to Mark Parrish, who gloved the pass down and broke in 2-on-1 with Brad
Isbister. Parrish pushed a soft backhand pass to Isbister, who
slammed it home as Terreri went down to block the pass attempt.
After that, it was up to Vanbiesbrouck to hold off the Devils.
He did so with several outstanding stops, including a key save on
Alexander Mogilny with 5½ minutes left. Mogilny, all alone on the
right side, sent a quick wrist shot toward the net. Vanbiesbrouck
made a left pad save.
"I didn't see the pass across, but I saw it was (Mogilny),"
Vanbiesbrouck said. "He scored a hat trick on us the last time we
played, so I know how dangerous he is."
The Islanders celebrated their second win in their last three
games, while the Devils failed to gain a point for the first time
in eight games (5-1-0-2).
"I wouldn't say it was a case of them winning the game,"
Robinson said. "I would say it was more of a case of us giving
them the game."
Meanwhile, Goring sang the praises of his goaltender.
"John made some huge saves for us and won the game for us,"
Goring said. "When the game was on the line, he was sensational."
Game notes
Terreri's last start in goal was the last time New
Jersey lost in regulation, a 5-4 decision in Boston on Jan. 16 ....
The game marked only the second time this season the Islanders
managed points in the standings after trailing by two goals at any
point in the contest. On Oct. 21, they managed a 4-4 tie at
Washington after being down 2-0 .... Islanders defenseman Zdeno
Chara, the tallest player in the league at 6-foot-9, played in his
200th NHL game .... Islanders general manager Mike Milbury decided
on Tuesday that rookie goalie Rick DiPietro will stay up with the
Islanders for the remainder of the season. He backed up
Vanbiesbrouck, which meant Wade Flaherty was scratched. Look for
either Vanbiesbrouck or Flaherty to be traded soon.
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NHL Scoreboard
New Jersey Clubhouse
NY Islanders Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 4
Carolina 3
Detroit 3
Columbus 2
NY Rangers 4
Montreal 2
Florida 5
Buffalo 2
NY Islanders 3
New Jersey 2
Philadelphia 5
Pittsburgh 1
Edmonton 3
Chicago 2
Nashville 3
Anaheim 0
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