Greiss propels Islanders past Sharks

SAN JOSE-- Thomas Greiss made 40 saves to help the New York Islanders to a 3-1 win against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Saturday.
Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and Cal Clutterbuck scored for the Islanders (2-2-1), who were outshot 16-4 in the third period.

Watch: [All Islanders vs. Sharks highlights]
"After we got the lead we just kind of held on," Islanders coach Doug Weight said. "We bent but we didn't break, and we needed some big saves from Thomas. They're a good team. These teams when they're down, they're going to push. You don't want to sit back, but I think it's human nature.

"We have to get it in our heads. We want to play aggressive and we want to put the puck in good spots. We started making some shoddy decisions, out feet stopped moving for a while, but give them credit. They made a good push. [Greiss] was great."
Kevin Labanc scored for San Jose (1-3-0), and Aaron Dell made 20 saves in his first start of the season. The Sharks have lost three of their four games this season, all at home.
"I thought tonight was probably our best game of the four we've played," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "I thought the special teams both looked good. We did a lot of good things 5-on-5. We're building our game. If you see frustration, it's because these guys expect to win every night."
Nelson gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 6:27 of the second period with his third goal of the season. He took a pass from Calvin de Haan and put a wrist shot from the left circle past Dell.
San Jose outshot New York 41-23.
"We had a lot of time in their end of the ice, we put a lot of pressure on them," DeBoer said. "We had some great looks. We could have had four or five goals tonight pretty easily. You have to tip your hat to their goalie. He was outstanding."

The Sharks took a 1-0 lead at 4:16 of the first period on Labanc's power-play goal from the right circle with de Haan in the penalty box for slashing. Labanc knocked in a rebound of Mikkel Boedker's shot. His wrist shot deflected off of Clutterbuck's skate and between Greiss' pads.
The Islanders made it 1-1 at 17:02 of the first period when Lee tipped in Adam Pelech's shot from above the right circle.
Clutterbuck, who returned after missing three games because of a lower-body injury, scored an empty-net goal at 18:10 of the third period.
Greiss is 2-1-0 in three career starts against San Jose.

"That's how hockey sometimes goes," Greiss said. "Sometimes you just can't get the puck in and today was the other way around. We're happy with the win."

Goal of the game

Nelson's goal came 13 seconds after Sharks forward Ryan Carpenter leveled Pelech with a big hit in the neutral zone.
"It was a weird play," Nelson said. "Guys were kind of looking around, seeing what was going on. Pretty heady play by Cal on the entry [pass], and then we had a 3-on-2 and we scored."

Save of the game

At 11:33 of the second period, Greiss saved Joe Pavelski's backhand shot from close range, preserving the Islanders' 2-1 lead. A frustrated Pavelski broke his stick by slamming it on the crossbar.
"I'd like the finish to be a little bit better," Pavelski said. "Something had to give. So the stick did."

Highlight of the game

As the Sharks turned up the pressure, defenseman Tim Heed sent a slap shot through traffic that Greiss denied with 16:51 left in the third period.

They said it

"Greiss was extremely solid tonight and obviously gave us a solid chance to take the lead and win the game. When you only let up one against a team like that, it says a lot of about how he played tonight." -- Islanders forward Anders Lee
"The rust is off now. I felt good again tonight. Felt strong. Felt the puck was on my stick all night, making good plays." -- Sharks center Joe Thornton

Need to know

The Islanders went 0-for-3 on the power play and are 0-for-18 this season. … Islanders forward Jordan Eberle, who sustained an upper-body injury during practice Wednesday, had one assist and three shots in 17:34 of ice time. ... Islanders defensemen Dennis Seidenberg and Ryan Pulock were healthy scratches but could play Sunday at the Los Angeles Kings in the second game of a back-to-back. Seidenberg has played in one game this season; Pulock has yet to play. ... Sharks defenseman Dylan DeMelo and forwards Joel Ward and Barclay Goodrow were healthy scratches.

What's next

Islanders:At the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday (10:30 p.m. ET; MSG+, FS-W, NHL.TV)
Sharks: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV)