Recap: Islanders 4, Canucks 2

Andrew Ladd, Jason Chimera and the New York Islanders all got what they needed on Monday night.
Ladd and Chimera each got their first goals of the season, while the Islanders banked a pair of points, winning 4-2 over the Vancouver Canucks at Barclays Center.

"It's big, for me or Jason, just getting that good feeling when you put pucks in the net," Ladd said. "Sometimes all it takes is one and then you go from there, so definitely, definitely a nice feeling."

It was a confidence booster for the Islanders as well, who entered the game on a three-game winless streak (0-1-2). They played a no-frills, grinding game, coming alive in the third period to score two goals under two minutes apart, with Cal Clutterbuck backhanding the eventual winner past Ryan Miller at 9:11 and Ladd adding the insurance marker at 10:50.
"Today, honestly, the third was great and the last five minutes of the third was what we needed," Clutterbuck said. "Everyone doing the right thing, guys making solid plays and being strong on their sticks and not really giving them a whole lot."

The Islanders didn't give the Canucks much at even strength all game, aside from Daniel Sedin's unassisted icebreaker at 4:22 of the first period. Chimera got that one back quickly for the Islanders. The veteran forward known for going to the front of the net did exactly that, crashing the crease and ensuring that Anders Lee's bat out of the air made it across the line.
"It was a little longer than I'd hoped," Chimera said. "It was nice to get it for sure."
Nikolay Kulemin put the Islanders up 2-1 midway through the second period, slamming home a Thomas Hickey rebound at 7:38 for his first goal of the season.

The Canucks tied it up on a power play before the end of the period, as another unfriendly bounce went against the Islanders. Ben Hutton's shot kicked hard off the end boards, right to Bo Horvat, who quickly dished to Markus Granlund for the tying goal. Jack Capuano credited his guys from overcoming the power-play goal and coming back strong in the third.
"We battled back and we were resilient and we did some good things," the coach said.

They picked their spots in the third period, with Clutterbuck collecting a loose puck in the slot and beating Miller high. Ladd just put the puck on net and it caromed off Nikita Tryamkin's leg and in. In total, the Islanders have 17 third period goals this season, but after earning the cushion, they clamped down defensively, holding the Canucks to six shots and even fewer scoring chances.
"We played with a lot of structure, a lot of poise," Thomas Hickey said. "They came. With their defense coming down the walls it gets tough, you have to pick your head up and make some plays, we had a lot of guys that did that tonight."
The 4-2 victory ends the Islanders five-game homestand on a winning note. The Islanders begin a two-game Florida road trip in Tampa Bay on Thursday night.

ALY RAISMAN DROPS CEREMONIAL FIRST PUCK

Video: VAN@NYI: U.S. Olympian Aly Raisman drops the puck