Islanders defeat Sabres for second straight win

NEW YORK -- Ryan Strome had a goal and an assist and Thomas Greiss made 28 saves to help the New York Islanders to a 5-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres at Barclays Center on Friday.
Anthony Beauvillier, John Tavares, Andrew Ladd and Calvin de Haan also scored for the Islanders (13-14-6), who have won back-to-back games following a five-game losing streak. New York was outscored 15-8 in its previous three home games.

"I don't think it's a secret what we have to do to win," Strome said. "Play fast, use our speed. It's good to get two in a row before the break."
WATCH: All Sabres vs. Islanders highlights
The Islanders took a 1-0 lead at 12:05 of the first period when Beauvillier deflected a point shot by Travis Hamonic that went under Sabres goalie Anders Nilsson's pads.
Strome made it 2-0 at 14:36 after he got the rebound of his own shot and put it past Nilsson. It was his fifth of the season and third in his past five games.
Tavares scored a power-play goal with 39 seconds left in the second period to make it 3-0. It was his first goal in six games.
"I thought it was one of the more complete games we've played," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "Our penalty kill was really good and our power-play got us a big goal when we needed it ... the work ethic was there."

Ladd and de Haan scored in the third period for the Islanders, who had been outscored 14-1 after the second period in their previous six games.
"I think we just played with the mindset in the third period that it was a 0-0 game," Strome said. "We came out hard, had a lot of scoring chances and it was nice to kind of keep the pressure on rather than sit back on our toes and our heels."
The Sabres (12-13-8), who got 27 saves from Nilsson, have lost three straight games (0-2-1).
"Start to finish, we couldn't generate anything," Sabres captain Brian Gionta said. "We have to do a better job of figuring out what type of a team we want to be. We're the type of team that has to be direct, using our forecheck."
Greiss lost his shutout when Zemgus Girgensons scored with 1:03 left.
"A lot of their shots were from the outside, there weren't really many rebounds," said Greiss, who made 48 saves in a 4-2 win at the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. "It was a great defensive game for our team today."
Kyle Okposo, who was drafted by the Islanders and spent nine seasons with the organization, played his first game here since signing a seven-year contract with the Sabres on July 1. He had two shots on goal and two blocks in 17:58 of ice time.

Goal of the game

Beauvillier made a nice tip of Hamonic's point shot for his second goal in the past three games.

Save of the game

After a giveaway by Jack Eichel in the offensive zone, Nilsson stopped Tavares on a breakaway with a glove save at 13:13 of the second period.

Unsung performance of the game

The Islanders blocked 22 shots, including four from defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, who had two assists and was a plus-2. It was his first two-point game since he had two assists against the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 5.

Highlight of the game

Alan Quine took a pass in his own end to start a rush in the third period before losing the puck and regaining control in the Sabres zone. He then sent a beautiful pass in front to de Haan, who scored his second of the season and first since Oct. 23. It was de Haan's first point in 16 games.

They said it

"We know we have to string a lot of wins here together, and hopefully this is the start of us getting on a roll." --Islanders forward Andrew Ladd
"You always want to go into the break on a high note, and it's a good feeling to have a nice break and come refreshed back and play the same way again."-- Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss
"We gave up too many odd-man rushes, way too many scoring chances against, and unfortunately I wasn't able to make the saves that the team needed. ... . We need to regroup here and come back after the break and play the way we can and need to." - Sabres goalie Anders Nilsson
"We looked like a tired team the last two games. I think the break comes at a good time for us." -- Sabres coach Dan Bylsma

Need to know

Tavares won 16 of 21 faceoffs. ... Twelve different Islanders scored at least one point. ... The Islanders have killed off all five shorthanded chances in the past two games after allowing eight power-play goals on 15 chances in the five games prior. ... Sabres coach Dan Bylsma remained one win shy of 300 in his NHL career.

What's next

Sabres:At the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; MSG-B, FS-D, NHL.TV)
Islanders:Host the Washington Capitals on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+2, CSN-DC, NHL.TV)