Pulock scores five points in Islanders win against Blackhawks

CHICAGO --Ryan Pulock had a goal and four assists to help the New York Islanders defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 7-3 at United Center on Saturday.
It was the first five-point game of Pulock's NHL career. He had never had more than two in a game.

"Sometimes when you're hot they go in, and it's definitely a good feeling," Pulock said. "... As an offensive guy, those are always fun. I'm sure at times the coaches aren't too happy, but we came out on top and it was a big win for our team."
WATCH: [All Islanders vs. Blackhawks highlights]
Anthony Beauvillier scored two goals, and Brock Nelson had a goal and two assists for the Islanders (24-20-4), who won their first game at United Center since March 15, 2009. Jaroslav Halak made 36 saves.
"It was a great win," Islanders coach Doug Weight said. "It was the way we've got to play as a team. We gave up 39 [shots on goal] but I think we had a lot from the outside. [Halak] made some big saves and I think we did a heck of a job against a good team, an experienced team, [a] team that's desperate, so it was good."

Patrick Kane had two goals and an assist to reach 800 NHL points, and Erik Gustafsson scored his first NHL goal for the Blackhawks (22-18-6), who have lost three of their past four at home (1-3-0).
"That was a tough game," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "Tough first period. It looked like we had a sniff there at the end of the second to get excited and it evaporated real quick. It was a game we had to win, disappointing in a lot of ways."
After the Blackhawks took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Kane 1:01 into the first period, the Islanders responded with four straight goals.

"We started the game with a goal against our line, so that's never how you want to start a game," Beauvillier said. "But we showed a lot of character, just coming back in the game and pushing ourselves to be better and playing a simple game against a really good team."
Beauvillier tied it 1-1 at 4:35 with a power-play goal, and Jordan Eberle (10:31) and Pulock (19:04) each scored for a 3-1 lead.
Beauvillier scored his second power-play goal 1:25 into the second period to give the Islanders a 4-1 lead.
"That was just a great job by [Nelson] in front of the net on the first goal," Beauvillier said. "I just squeezed it between [the goalie's] legs. That second play, [Josh Bailey] made a real nice play to me in front and I was by myself. Good to get the [power play] back on track."

Gustafsson, making his NHL season debut, cut the lead to 4-2 at 18:27, but Nelson scored 1:52 into the third period to put the Islanders in front 5-2.
Blackhawks goalie Anton Forsberg was pulled and replaced by Jeff Glass. Forsberg made 30 saves, and Glass made nine.
Kane scored his 20th of the season at 4:58 to make it 5-3, but Anders Lee made it 6-3 at 7:10 with his 27th goal, and John Tavares scored his 26th at 10:30 to make it 7-3.

Goal of the game

Nelson's goal at 1:52 of the third period.

Save of the game

Halak's save on Brandon Saad at 4:10 of the first period.

Highlight of the game

Lee's breakaway goal at 7:10 of the third period.

They said it

"It feels good. We're an offensive team, have a lot of depth in the lineup. We can score goals, we can make plays. It's a good way to start the trip. It was a great win tonight against a pretty good team." -- Islanders forward Anthony Beauvillier

"Time's ticking here and we know that the urgency has to be there. It's got to come in-game. We can sit here and talk all we want and say things but it's got to come down to us doing it in the game." -- Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith

Need to know

Pulock became the first rookie defenseman in Islanders history to have a five-point game, and the eighth in NHL history. ... Beauvillier has six goals in his past six games after scoring four in his previous 30. ... Kane has scored at least 20 goals in each of his 11 seasons.

What's next

Islanders: At the Arizona Coyotes on Monday (9 p.m. ET; FS-A PLUS, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Blackhawks: Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday (8:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, WGN, NHL.TV)