Cousins carries Coyotes past Islanders

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Nick Cousins scored his second goal of the game at 2:21 of overtime to give the Coyotes a 3-2 win against the New York Islanders at Gila River Arena on Monday.
On the winning goal, Cousins took a pass from Christian Fischer in front of the net and deked Jaroslav Halak before putting the puck in on the far side on his backhand.

"That's a prime-time goal," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "He's worked on his game and he's starting to reap the benefits. Good for him."
WATCH: [All Islanders vs. Coyotes highlights]
Tocchet has scratched Cousins 10 times this season. Cousins never complained, Tocchet said. He simply worked to become a contributor.
It was Cousins' first two-goal game in the NHL.
Brendan Perlini scored and Antti Raanta made 32 saves for Arizona (12-28-9), which has earned a point in seven of its past eight games (3-1-4). The Coyotes are on a five-game point streak (2-0-3), their longest of the season.

Anthony Beauvillier had two goals for the Islanders (24-20-5). Halak made 30 saves.
The Islanders had a power play at 16:30 of the third period when Max Domi went to the box for slashing Nick Leddy, but they couldn't convert.
Raanta made three consecutive saves in overtime, two on Leddy and one on John Tavares.
"It was a tough point to lose, but I thought we played a decent first period and got better in the offensive zone as we went," Islanders coach Doug Weight said. "We could have easily won the game. That's the frustrating part."
Cousins gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead at 12:20 of the first period. Oliver Ekman-Larsson's shot from the left wing missed wide, but it banked off the end boards to Cousins at the far post. Cousins slipped a backhand in between Halak and the post.
Beauvillier tied the game 34 seconds into the second period after Halak stopped Richard Panik at the other end. Raanta stopped Beauvillier's initial shot, but could not control the rebound. Beauvillier tucked it inside the near post to make it 1-1.

Perlini gave the Coyotes a 2-1 lead at 9:52 of the second period when he defected Luke Schenn's shot from the right point past Halak. Perlini has a goal in three straight games.
"I'm trying to be around the net," Perlini said. "If you look at a guy like (Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney) Crosby, yeah, he scores some unbelievable ones. But I'm sure he scores most of them all around the net. I'm trying to get better at that part of my game."
Beauvillier tied the game 2-2 at 2:53 of the third period on a rebound of Thomas Hickey's shot from the left face-off circle.
Beauvillier has nine points (eight goals, one assist) in his past seven games.

Goal of the game

Cousins' goal at 2:21 of overtime.

Save of the game

Raanta's save against Tavares at 2:03 of overtime.

Highlight of the game

Perlini's goal at 9:52 of the second period.

They said it

"We did a lot of good things. Give them credit. They played a strong game and were hard on pucks and they're a fast team." -- Islanders forward Anthony Beauvillier

"It was a fire drill in our own end, and [Raanta] stood on his head like he has all year. Fischer made a nice play to the net, and I just tried to bring it to the backhand." -- Coyotes forward Nick Cousins on his overtime goal

Need to know

New York is 2-5-2 in its past nine trips to Arizona. … Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield chipped his two front teeth when Clayton Keller's stick struck him in the mouth at 6:55 of the second period. … Raanta is 3-1-3 with 14 goals allowed in his past seven starts. He has held opponents to two goals or fewer in six of his past seven starts.

What's next

Islanders: At the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; SN1, ATTSN-RM, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Coyotes: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; FS-A, FS-O, NHL.TV)