Sabres top Islanders, end four-game losing streak

BUFFALO -- Sam Reinhart broke a tie with 4:14 remaining in the third period, and the Buffalo Sabres defeated the New York Islanders 4-3 at KeyBank Center on Thursday.
Reinhart's 11th goal of the season came when he swept a rebound of a shot by Evan Rodrigues past Islanders goaltender Jaroslav Halak.

WATCH: [All Islanders vs. Sabres highlights]
"It's a fine line between the good teams in this league and we want to separate ourselves and be a part of that," said Reinhart, who also had two assists. "It's games like these you need to consistently win. It's unfortunate where we're at, but this is one we can hold up."
Reinhart has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) his past seven games, and 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in his past 10 games.
"I think he's got a little bit more confidence," Sabres coach Phil Housley said. "He got some on that road trip. He's getting some production offensively, which always helps mentally, and he's making some really strong plays down low."
Jack Eichel, Rodrigues and Ryan O'Reilly also scored for the Sabres (15-29-10), who ended a four-game losing streak (0-3-1) with their 1,000th regular season home win. Robin Lehner made 26 saves.

"We got outshot pretty bad in the first period (10-4), but we found a way to get two goals on two shots," Housley said. "I just didn't like the way we played tonight. Even after a win, we gave up far too many chances to a team that likes to attack on the rush."
John Tavares, Ross Johnston and Anders Lee scored for the Islanders (26-23-6), who have lost four of their past five games (1-3-1). Halak made 18 saves.

"Very frustrating," Islanders coach Doug Weight said. "We cleaned it up and we played hard. That's what they did. They tried to slow the game down but we kept playing. We rolled the lines. I thought we got good performances from a lot of guys. I mean, we're going to win hockey games, we just can't afford to lose those."
Reinhart helped the Sabres get out to a 2-0 lead when he assisted on first-period goals by Eichel (7:41) and Rodrigues (13:21). O'Reilly's power-play goal at 7:18 of the second period made it 3-0.
Rodrigues' goal was his first since he scored two Dec. 10 (22 games). Reinhart, Eichel and Rodrigues played as a line for the first time against the Islanders.
"I'm really happy for Evan, finally getting a goal," Housley said. "Hopefully that'll boost his confidence, but I really liked that line. It really mixed well tonight."
The Islanders scored three straight goals to tie the game.
Tavares made it 3-1 at 13:06 when he put a loose puck past Lehner after a shot by Thomas Hickey was tipped by Brock Nelson.
Johnston made it 3-2 with his second goal at 7:30 of the third period, and Lee's 28th of the season, on the power play, made it 3-3 at 14:33.
"We had our chances after we tied it up," Tavares said. "Just blown coverage by me in our own zone and that's a goal against that obviously decided the game."

Goal of the game

Eichel's goal at 7:41 of the first period.

Save of the game

Lehner's pad save against Nelson at 10:30 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Reinhart's goal at 15:46 of the third period.

They said it

"After kind of spotting them a couple in the first period we knew we were in a hole and we had to battle back. We tie it up late in the third, and obviously when you do that and you come back and you battle and then you leave with zero points it's really frustrating, especially with the way things have been going, and this one doesn't sit well at all." -- Islanders forward Anders Lee
"It was a pretty frustrating start as it was for a lot of guys. For me right now it's a little rewarding and still frustrating knowing I haven't changed too much in everything; my preparation, my mindset, how I feel with the puck out there. It's nice to see it finally going in." -- Sabres forward Sam Reinhart

Need to know

The Islanders allowed fewer than 30 shots on goal for the first time since Dec. 19 (20 games). … Okposo, who had an assist, has 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in his past 12 games.

What's next

Islanders: Host the Detroit Red Wings on Friday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, FS-D+, NHL.TV)
Sabres:At the Boston Bruins on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NESN, MSG-B, NHL.TV)