News » previous games in which they led after two periods

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- When the New York Islanders lead was cut in half in the opening minute of the third period, the sense of impending doom began wafting through Nassau Coliseum. After all, the Islanders had won just nine of 20 previous games in which they led after two periods. But Ryan Strome scored 39 seconds later to restore the two-goal lead, and New York cruised from there Saturday night to a 4-1 victory over the lowly Buffalo Sabres. On a recently completed road trip, the Islanders let two-goal leads get away in the third periods of losses to Edmonton and Calgary on consecutive nights. "When (Buffalo) got that power-play goal to start the third period, I know you guys were thinking, Here we go again," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "We battled back and we were resilient. It was a good bench. Guys were positive." Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo staked the Islanders to a 2-0 lead in the first period. Strome then netted the big goal to push back the Sabres, and Cal Clutterbuck sealed the win with an empty-net goal one night after New York lost 4-3 at home to San Jose. The Islanders (26-34-9) earned their 10th home win (10-17-8), and did it in a rare matchup against an opponent they are ahead of in the standings. "Anybody can beat anybody in this league no matter where you are," Okposo said. "Thats been proven throughout this whole year. Theyve got some skill over there. "We stuck with our game plan and we outplayed them." Backup goalie Anders Nilsson (3-4-2) earned the win in his 15th NHL game. He lost his shutout bid 56 seconds into the third when Tyler Ennis scored. Nilsson made 33 saves while subbing for No. 1 netminder Evgeni Nabokov, who lost on Friday. "I had the post with me one time, and I think the whole team in front of me played an unbelievable game," said Nilsson, who will turn 24 next week. "They cleared the guys who were in front of me, so I got a clear view of every shot. That makes it a lot easier." Jhonas Enroth stopped 34 shots for Buffalo, which has the fewest points and goals in the NHL. "Scoring has been our problem all season. Tonight was no different," Enroth said. "The effort was there, but we struggle to finish." Earlier in this disappointing season, the Islanders and Sabres swapped star forwards Matt Moulson and Thomas Vanek, but both impending free agents have both been dealt elsewhere since. Fans periodically voiced loud chants of "Snow Must Go," directed toward Islanders general manager Garth Snow. Despite being outshot 14-10 and short-handed three times in the first period, the Islanders took a 2-0 lead. Nielsen put New York in front before the games first stoppage, and Okposo doubled the lead with a power-play goal. After holding his stick in the air waiting to fire, Nielsen unleashed a hard drive from the left circle that struck Enroths glove and found its way in at 3:31 for his 22nd goal. Okposo made it 2-0 with 2:36 left when he corralled a pass from Brock Nelson in the slot and whipped a shot past Enroth 1:11 into Henrik Tallinders holding penalty. It was Okposos team-leading 27th goal and 69th point. He also helped set up Nielsens goal, tying him with injured captain John Tavares with a club-best 42 assists. New York nearly had a third goal, but Enroth made a fine stop against Josh Bailey at the left post when he tried to follow up on Nelsons wraparound attempt. Buffalo mustered five shots during its three failed power plays in the first period. The only advantage the Sabres gave to the Islanders in the frame proved costly when Okposo scored on New Yorks only shot. The trend reversed in the second when New York had a 14-10 shots edge, but neither team scored. Nilssons first scare came when he stopped a shot by Matt DAgostini 2:13 into the second and then had to reach behind him after the puck slid through him and trickled toward the open net. "I thought I had it, but then I heard the fans chanting a little, so I figured it was probably laying behind me," Nilsson said. "Those things happen, but luckily it didnt end up in the net." The Sabres nearly got on the board in the final two seconds of the middle frame when Drew Stafford ripped a shot off a faceoff win in the Islanders end during a Buffalo power play, but Nilsson was there to block it. Ennis scored his 18th goal during that advantage. "You cant expect to win if you score only one goal," Sabres coach Ted Nolan said. "We had some good looks, but we couldnt finish." NOTES: Okposo is one goal shy of 100 in the NHL. ... The Sabres recalled D Rasmus Ristolainen from Rochester (AHL) due to the absence of D Tyler Myers (arm), who will also likely miss Sundays home game against Montreal. ... New York agreed to terms with 2012 draft pick D Adam Pelech on a three-year, entry-level contract. Juan Fernando Quintero Jersey . The Pope greeted Klose at his general audience Wednesday and the pair had a long chat. Klose is German like the pope, although he was born in Poland. In Sundays derby, Lazio took the lead in the seventh minute after Maarten Stekelenburg brought down Klose, resulting in the Roma goalkeeper being sent off and a penalty that Hernanes converted. Luis Muriel Jersey . A little more than one year after missing a last-second tip-in that would have given the Wolverines a share of the Big Ten regular-season title, the 6-foot-8 forward scored on a layup with 7. http://www.nationalcolombiafootball.com/carlos-sanchez-moreno-colombia-jersey/ . - The width of Alec Martinezs shin guard was the difference between the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks in their playoff series opener. Oscar Murillo Colombia Jersey . -- Orleans Darkwa ran in from 1 yard with 1:45 left, and the Miami Dolphins rallied from two scores down in the final minutes to beat the Dallas Cowboys 25-20 on Saturday night. Mateus Uribe Colombia Jersey . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. The latest from Bob As tweeted by TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie on Monday, the Columbus Blue Jackets need to resolve their offseason plans with forward R.PRATTVILLE, Ala. - South Koreas Mi Jung Hur birdied four of the last eight holes Saturday for a 5-under 67 and a share of the lead with Paula Reto in the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic.Beginning of the round my putting wasnt that good, Hur said. But after turned the nine holes, my putting gets better and better, so I had a low score.Reto, the second-round leader, birdied three of the final five holes for a 70 to match Hur at 15-under 201 on Capitol Hills links-style Senator layout.I didnt start too well, said Reto, a former Purdue player from South Africa. I had a couple bogeys and a double there, but I kept patient and just focused on one shot at a time and it kind of helped me out toward the end of the round.Hur won her lone LPGA Tour title in 2009, and Reto is winless in her rookie season.Top-ranked Stacy Lewis and Kris Tamulis were tied for third at 11 under. Lewis, the 2012 winner in the event dropped from the schedule last year after losing its title sponsor, had a 70.For the way I played, the score ended up pretty good, said Lewis, the tour leader with three victories this year. I didnt play well. It was kind of a struggle all day and just had to work pretty hard to shoot what I did. But Im stilll within striking distance, still have a chance for tomorrow, which that was the goal going into the week.ddddddddddddTamulis shot 65, the best round of the day.I wasnt really trying to chase anybody, Tamulis said. Didnt have a great middle of my round yesterday, so I was just going out there. I had some really good numbers today and was able to just kind of go for it.Reto rebounded from her double bogey on the par-3 seventh with birdies on the next two holes.I wasnt kind of where I wanted to be with my mental and stuff, said Reto, who started playing golf at 16 in 2005 when she moved to Florida with her family So, I just took a couple seconds to myself just to rethink everything, just kind of stayed in there.They will play in the same group again Sunday.Im just going to focus on each shot and I will do my best for tomorrow, Hur said. Play with Paula will be fun, not much pressure. I mean, she made me so comfortable.Reto is in position to win after missing 11 cuts in 18 starts this year.It would be really cool. That would put the cherry on the cake, said Reto, coming off a ninth-place tie in Portland, Oregon. But Im not going to think about it. Im just going to have fun and stuff. ' ' '