National Hockey League
Edmonton 3, NY Islanders 1
When: 9:30 PM ET, Sunday, February 28, 2016
Where: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta
Referees: Greg Kimmerly, Dan O'Halloran
Linesmen: Scott Driscoll, Ryan Galloway
Attendance: 16839

EDMONTON, Alberta -- A team shakeup on Saturday that sent three players packing in trades woke up the Edmonton Oilers up a bit.

Centers Anton Lander and Leon Draisaitl scored goals 55 seconds apart in the third period as the Oilers snapped a seven-game losing skid with a 3-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Sunday.

Defenseman Brandon Davidson also recorded a goal for the Oilers, who won only one game in their previous 11 outings, and had lost 8-1 to the Islanders earlier in February.

The Oilers lost five in a row on a homestand before a pair of 2-1 road losses to the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks that seemed to start Edmonton back in the right direction.

"Obviously, the homestand after we beat Toronto was really disappointing," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. "Our last nine periods have been good, and that's a reflection on them that their effort level wasn't good enough before. Give them credit for responding."

Lander scored his first goal since March 16, 2015.

"It's been a tough time for me, both mentally and physically," he said. "More importantly, though, we got a big win, too. We've been playing pretty good the last two games, and I think the group needed the win to show what we needed to win games. It was nice to get the first goal, but also the win."

Center Casey Cizikas scored for the Islanders, who saw a three-game winning streak end.

"I didn't think we had a good first period, but I thought the second and third we did a better job of getting pucks in deep and working them down low and getting pucks to the net," Cizikas said. "We just have to score on our opportunities when we have them."

New York left winger Matt Martin added, "We probably played our best hockey in the third period, but you can't expect to win games playing 20 minutes of hockey."

Oilers goalie Cam Talbot stopped 36 of the 37 shots he faced, while Islanders goaltender Jaroslav Halak made 23 saves.

Edmonton (23-34-7) outshot New York 6-5 in the scoreless opening frame, but the Isles (33-20-7) had the best opportunity as left winger Nikolay Kulemin hit a post in the final minute.

The game remained without a goal until the 17:43 mark late in the second. A shot by New York defensemen Nick Leddy struck Oilers defenseman Adam Clendening high in the shoulder, and Cizikas was there to score on a spin-around shot from in close that landed next to the sprawling Edmonton player.

The Oilers tied the game midway through the third from an unlikely source, as Lander scored on a shot through traffic. It was Lander's first goal of the season in 53 games played.

Edmonton took the lead less than a minute later. Right winger Zack Kassian played the role of nuisance in front, allowing Draisaitl to swoop in and swat in a puck lying in the blue paint.

The Oilers took a two-goal lead with 3:03 left in the contest as Davidson took a feed from right winger Jordan Eberle and blasted it past Halak.

NOTES: Both teams return to the ice Tuesday. The Islanders play the fifth game of a season-high, seven-game road trip in Vancouver, and while the Oilers head to Buffalo to face the Sabres. ... The only previous meeting between the two teams this season was an 8-1 Islanders win on Feb. 7 in New York. ... The Oilers were without D Oscar Klefbom (lower body), D Andrew Ference (hip), D Eric Gryba (knee) and C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (hand), although Nugent-Hopkins took the morning skate for the first time since Jan. 18. ... The Islanders played without D Calvin de Haan (lower body) and C Mikhail Grabovski (upper body). ... Islanders D Ryan Pulock made his NHL debut after recording seven goals and 24 points in 51 games with AHL Bridgeport. He finished with a minus-1 rating in 14:46 of ice time. ... The Oilers had a new look after three trades on Saturday that saw G Anders Nilsson, D Justin Schultz and RW Teddy Purcell sent to new teams.
Top Game Performances
 
NY Islanders   Edmonton
Casey Cizikas 1 Points Brandon Davidson 2
Casey Cizikas 1 Goals Brandon Davidson 1
Cal Clutterbuck 1 Assists Brandon Davidson 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Jaroslav Halak .885 Save Percentage Cam Talbot .973
Jaroslav Halak 23 Saves Cam Talbot 36
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
NY Islanders 37 1 0-4 1-1 2 24
Edmonton 26 3 0-1 4-4 8 28
Upcoming Games
  • Edmonton will play their next game on the road against Buffalo. The Oilers have a W/L % of .455 after a win and .310 after a loss.
  • NY Islanders will play their next game on the road against Vancouver. The Islanders have a W/L % of .485 after a win and .630 after a loss.