Rasmus Ristolainen lifts Sabres to overtime win

BUFFALO -- Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen scored 42 seconds into overtime to give the Buffalo Sabres a 3-2 win against the New York Islanders at KeyBank Center on Friday.
Ristolainen received a pass from Kyle Okposo and beat goalie J-F Berube with a shot from the slot for his second goal of the season.
"I love to play overtime," said Ristolainen, who scored in overtime to lift Buffalo to a 4-3 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 6. "I tried to yell, tap my stick and do everything that he can hear me. [Okposo] made a great play."
Ristolainen has two goals and seven assists on a five-game point streak.

"We are having fun with each other, we trust and we know the way we played the last two games late in the game, that's the way we're going to win," the 22-year-old said.
WATCH: All Islanders vs. Sabres highlights
Ristolainen had an assist on Johan Larsson's goal to tie it 1-1 at 2:32 of the second period.
"He makes plays and he creates offense, and you need that," Okposo said. "He's our No. 1 [defenseman] for a reason. He's going to get better, and I'm looking forward to watching him grow."
Okposo played his first game against the Islanders after nine seasons with them.
"It was strange, to be honest with you," said Okposo, who signed with Buffalo as an unrestricted free agent on July 1. "So many times you play with those guys. I know exactly what they're going to do. … It was an odd game, an odd feeling."
Matt Moulson also scored for the Sabres (12-11-6), who have won two straight games.

The Islanders (11-13-6) have lost four straight (0-3-1).
Alan Quine gave New York a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal 6:39 into the second period. He received a pass from Shane Prince and beat goalie Robin Lehner for his second goal of the season.
Moulson tied it 2-2 with a power-play goal 3:19 into the third period. He put a rebound of a shot by Evander Kane past Berube for his eighth goal, seventh on the power play.
Ryan Strome gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead with 6:52 left in the first period. He received a pass from Cal Clutterbuck and beat Lehner from the slot for his fourth goal.
Strome replaced injured center Casey Cizikas (upper body) on a line with Clutterbuck and Nikolay Kulemin. Forward Anthony Beauvillier replaced Cizikas in the lineup.
Berube made 34 saves in his first start of the season, and Lehner had 33.
"I thought he battled hard," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said of Berube, who has been on the New York roster all season. "For somebody not playing for a long period of time, he went in there and gave us a really good chance to win."

Goal of the game

Strome showed his accuracy with the wrist shot when he scored in the first period.

Save of the game

The Islanders outshot the Sabres 16-7 in the first period, but Lehner made 15 saves, highlighted by his right-toe stop against Andrew Ladd at 4:48.

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Highlight of the game

Okposo got an assist against his former team when he set up Ristolainen's overtime goal.

Unsung performance of the game

Strome scored a goal after going from playing right wing on New York's second line in a 5-4 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday to playing center on the fourth line Friday.

They said it

"That's kind of how things have been going for us lately. It's frustrating. We're playing well, can't seem to get the bounces in the third and in overtime. So many games we've been tied or had the lead going into the third. We've got to find a way to close it out." -- Islanders forward Shane Prince
"It's just frustrating. We play a good 40 minutes and the third period we kind of seem flat. It's kind of been the downfall of our team a little bit this year; our third periods and finding ways to win. Obviously, some positives you can draw, but we've got to find a way to close it out, and that's about it." -- Islanders forward Ryan Strome
"It's a huge win. … You're going to have games where you're not at your best, and you got to find a way to win those. That's what good teams do. You're going to have some off nights. I thought that we definitely weren't at our best tonight." -- Sabres right wing Kyle Okposo

Need to know

Ristolainen is the fourth defenseman in Sabres history to score multiple overtime goals, joining Hockey Hall of Fame member Phil Housley, Tyler Myers and Jason Woolley. … The Islanders were leading or tied going into the third period in each of their four straight losses. … The Sabres went 0-for-1 on the penalty kill and are tied with the Chicago Blackhawks for the NHL's worst penalty kill (73.3 percent).

What's next

Islanders:Host the Ottawa Senators on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; SN, TVA Sports, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Sabres: At the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; FS-CR, MSG-B, NHL.TV)