Islanders wrap up road trip with win against Stars

DALLAS -- Anders Lee's power-play goal broke a tie at 8:50 of the third period to help the New York Islanders to a 3-1 win against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Sunday.

Casey Cizikas and Leo Komarov also scored for New York (18-13-4), which completed a 3-1-0 Western Conference road trip. Robin Lehner made 19 saves.
"We knew the importance of this game right before the break," Lee said. "One we didn't want to overlook and one that if we won turned into a really good road trip. From the get-go all day today, we were focused on the task at hand and knew if we put in three good hours it would be a nice little break here."
WATCH: [All Islanders vs. Stars highlights]
Tyler Pitlick scored and Anton Khudobin made 25 saves for Dallas (18-16-3), which is 2-6-0 in its past eight games after winning four straight.
The Stars, who won 2-1 in overtime at the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, sought to sweep a back-to-back set for the first time in seven tries this season.
"I thought we ran out of gas," Dallas coach Jim Montgomery said. "I thought we skated the first seven minutes, and then we were really bad."

In each of New York's wins on the trip, the opponent was limited to one goal. That included Dallas, which won 6-2 at Barclays Center on Nov. 18, and Colorado, which leads the West with 129 goals scored.
"There's some pretty dynamic talent on that team that we played tonight, and there was some in Colorado," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. "We did a really good job against their top players. We were on top of people, and we're making plays and we're committed in the right area. Then, we can beat some pretty good teams."
Lee scored on a rebound after a shot from the high slot by Nick Leddy found its way through a crowd and went off the post and Khudobin for his 13th goal of the season.
Pitlick gave Dallas a 1-0 lead at 6:20 of the second period, ending a 16-game goal drought with his fourth of the season. He skated in from the left circle and slid the puck between Lehner's five-hole.

The Islanders tied it 1-1 at 14:10 of the second period on a goal that was credited to Cizikas, his ninth of the season. He skated out from behind the net and backhanded the puck off Khudobin, but it popped up and went off the goaltender's back and into the net.
"We've had a couple of odd ones like that," Lee said. "Good things happen when you get pucks to the net. Huge little boost for us, a little momentum swing. They don't always ask how they go in."
Khudobin said, "Yeah, lucky ones. It happens in hockey."
Komarov scored an empty-net goal at 19:00 of the third period for the 3-1 final score.

Cal Clutterbuck and Martin Hanzal collided in the Islanders zone with about seven minutes remaining in the first period. Clutterbuck was helped off the ice and briefly returned to New York's bench before heading back to the locker room. Hanzal played one more shift in the first period but didn't return after that.
The loss of Hanzal followed Jason Dickinson's upper-body injury, which he sustained Saturday.
"It's tough," Pitlick said of the injuries. "It's tough when the guys have to double shift, especially coming off a back-to-back. We have to find a way to dig in and get those points."

They said it

"You've got to love Casey. You talk about an Islander identity, that's it. You put his picture right in the Islander identity. He comes to work every night and he plays hard. I think he's gotten better and better every year." -- Islanders coach Barry Trotz on center Casey Cizikas
"Everyone thinks about their last game. My kids are getting coal in their stockings because we can't play a hockey game." -- Stars coach Jim Montgomery

Need to know

The Islanders played without defenseman Johnny Boychuk for the first time this season after his wife gave birth on Friday. Devon Toews, who was recalled from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League on Wednesday after defenseman Thomas Hickey (upper body) was placed on injured reserve, made his NHL debut and was plus-1 in 18:05. ... Stars forward Devin Shore played his 200th NHL game.

What's next

Islanders: Host the Ottawa Senators on Friday (Barclays Center; 7 p.m. ET; MSG+, RDS2, TSN5, NHL.TV)
Stars: At the Nashville Predators on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, FS-SW, NHL.TV)