Islanders Show Fight in 3-2 Win Over Red Wings

Barry Trotz wanted to see the Islanders play with more fight after Thursday's loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
It took a high, hard hit on captain Anders Lee, but the Islanders showed the intensity the coach was looking for on Saturday, scrapping their way out of an 0-2 hole for a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena.
"It was a good character win for us," said Matt Martin, who scored the game-winning goal in the third period. "We needed to find a way to win tonight and it was a good response from a poor effort in Pittsburgh."

Video: Isles score three unanswered goals to top Red Wings

BAILEY SPARKS ISLES AFTER HIT ON LEE:

Down 2-0 late in the first period, Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall bloodied up the Islanders' captain with a high hit and sent Lee to the dressing room for stitches and concussion testing. Lee eventually returned to the game in the second period, but the hit injected some nastiness into the game and prompted a physical response from the Islanders.
It started with Josh Bailey, who with only two previous NHL fights, was an unlikely candidate to exact the Islanders pound of flesh. Bailey dumped Kronwall in the corner and dropped the gloves with Dylan Larkin in a rare fight between leading scorers, but that was the spark the Islanders needed.
"We wanted to come back and win the game for our captain," Martin said. "Bails stepping up and getting into a fight gave guys like myself some chills. It really fires you up."

It was the first of a few role reversals for the Islanders on Saturday, who got fights from Bailey and Johnny Boychuk and big goals from Casey Cizikas and Martin.
"It was a good character win by us. Everyone played hard and rallied around that hit on Leesy," Bailey said. "It was great to see him come back and be okay. That gave us a boost as well."
Cizikas put the Islanders on the board early in the second period, crashing the net and chipping a Ross Johnston pass by Jonathan Bernier at 4:31. Ryan Pulock tied the score at 6:57, blasting one of his trademark slap shots by Bernier on a two-man advantage, snapping the Isles 0-for-20 power-play slump in the process.
Martin, whose hometown of Windsor, ON, is three miles from Little Caesars Arena, completed the comeback in the third period, roofing a Cal Clutterbuck feed in tight at 3:24.
The two teams meet again next Saturday night on Long Island.

Video: NYI@DET: Cizikas sweeps loose puck past Bernier

OFFSIDE CHALLENGE TURNS TIDE:

The Islanders got off to a slow start on Saturday night, finding themselves down 2-0 after an early goal from Justin Abdelkader at 4:59 and a Kronwall slap shot through a screen at 13:53.
It could have been worse, had Trotz not successfully challenged and overturned a Martin Frk goal 17 seconds after Abdelkader's icebreaker, as Frk was offside entering the zone on the preceding play. It was a pivotal play in the game, as Trotz said he was even considering pulling Thomas Greiss before the overturned call, but liked his goalie's response the rest of the way.
"That tells me a lot about Thomas," Trotz said of Greiss, who finished the night with 23 saves and was named the game's first star.

ISLES POWER PLAY BREAKS THROUGH:

The Islanders power play scored for the first time in 10 games on Saturday night.
Pulock did the deed, hammering a slap shot past Bernier on a five-on-three. The goal ended an 0-for-20 slump for the Isles, which Trotz said he hopes is the breakthrough his power play has been looking for.
"It was huge for their confidence," Trotz said. "I thought our power play was good, five-on-four we had lots of chances, we were pounding pucks and they were getting their confidence back, scoring a big goal when it mattered in the game to get it tied up. The penalty kill was outstanding as well, so it was the first time in a while that we can say special teams were a huge factor in our victory."

Video: NYI@DET: Greiss flashes the leather on Nielsen

NOTES:

Josh Bailey recorded his 400th career point with an assist on Pulock's power-play goal… Cal Clutterbuck recorded his 100th career assist on Martin's game-winning goal.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders are back home to face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night at NYCB LIVE.