Islanders defeat Coyotes with shorthanded goal

NEW YORK -- New York Islanders coach Jack Capuano has consistently preached the importance of getting offensive contributions from his defensemen. He got them Friday.
Dennis Seidenberg scored in the first period, and Johnny Boychuk broke a tie with a shorthanded goal early in the third to help the Islanders defeat the Arizona Coyotes 3-2 at Barclays Center.
Ryan Strome scored, and Jaroslav Halak made 23 saves for the Islanders (2-3-0), who played the final two periods with five defensemen after Ryan Pulock sustained a lower-body injury midway through the first.

"It was big for us," Capuano said. "The way the NHL is now and the way the game is played, you've got four-man attacks, you've got five-man attacks. There are guys that are maybe a little bit out of their comfort zone playing the way that we want to play, but it's paying dividends for us, for sure."
Brad Richardson and Radim Vrbata scored, and Louis Domingue made 28 saves for the Coyotes (1-3-0), who have lost the first three games of a six-game road trip.
"We've got to keep pounding away at it," Arizona coach Dave Tippett said. "We're learning a lot about our team right now, not just young players, but all our new players and where the parts fit. Obviously, we've got to do a better job of executing to give ourselves a better chance to win."

Seidenberg gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead 4:45 into the first period, and Strome made it 2-0 at 13:31. Boychuk split the Coyotes defense and got off a backhand that Domingue saved, but Strome followed the play and scored on the rebound for his second goal of the season.
It was the first NHL game between brothers Ryan and Dylan Strome of the Coyotes.
"It was pretty weird," Ryan Strome said. "Honestly it's tough, because you're kind of watching to make sure your brother's doing all right, but you also don't want to get beat on a play or whatever. It's weird. He's in the Western Conference, so [we only play each other] twice a year. I'm happy with that. I'd rather watch him when I'm not playing."
The Coyotes scored goals 13 seconds apart to tie the game 2-2. Richardson scored on a wrist shot from the slot at 14:09, and Vrbata redirected Jakob Chychrun's shot from the left point at 14:22.
Boychuk gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead 4:24 into the third period. He shot from the right point after Brock Nelson won an offensive-zone faceoff.
"[Nelson] wanted to win it back to me," Boychuk said. "He told me to set up for the shot. He won the faceoff clean and it was rolling, I took a 12-6 curveball and it went in."

Goal of the game

Seidenberg scored his first goal with the Islanders when he took a cross-ice feed from Casey Cizikas and put a wrist shot from the left circle into the upper right corner. It was Seidenberg's first goal since Feb. 14 with the Boston Bruins.

Save of the game

With the Islanders ahead 1-0, Coyotes captain Shane Doan had an opportunity to tie it with 8:06 remaining in the first period when he had a chance near the right post after Calvin de Haan broke his stick. Halak slid across his crease and stacked his pads to redirect Doan's shot out of play.

Highlight of the game

With a few seconds remaining on a penalty to de Haan, Nelson won the faceoff back to Boychuk, whose slap shot beat Domingue.

Unsung moment of the game

Two minutes into the third period, Chychrun rushed the puck up ice on a 2-on-1 with Doan. Chychrun attempted to set up Doan for a one-timer from the left circle, but Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey got his stick down and calmly broke up the play to keep the game tied 2-2.

They said it

"It's all about communicating when you're out there. For the most part, I feel we've been doing that. A couple breakdowns here and there, but it's been fairly easy and hopefully we keep getting better." -- Islanders defenseman Dennis Seidenberg
"Obviously, I want more. I want to win. It's not enough, it's never enough. We've got to keep trying to find ways and take some wins here. It's a tough start to the year. We've got to turn it around real quickly." -- Coyotes goalie Louis Domingue

Need to know

Coyotes defenseman Michael Stone played for the first time since March 26. He made his season debut after missing the first three games because of a knee injury. Goalie Mike Smith (lower body) was placed on injured reserve. … Capuano said the "news isn't good" on Pulock. He hopes to know more about his status Saturday. "There's a chance he could be out for a while," Capuano said. … Arizona was 0-for-4 on the power play; New York was 0-for-3. The Islanders are 18-for-19 on the penalty kill.

What's next

Coyotes: At the New York Rangers on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, MSG, FS-A, NHL.TV)
Islanders: Home against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday (6 p.m. ET; MSG+, FS-N, FS-WI, NHL.TV)