UNIONDALE, N.Y. – John Tavares netted the go-ahead goal late in the second period, and the New York Islanders overcame a quick scoring spurt by Edmonton’s Taylor Hall in a 3-2 victory over the Oilers on Thursday night.
Tavares beat goalie Devan Dubnyk with a snap shot in front with 1:07 left in the second off a pass from Kyle Okposo. It was the fourth goal of the season for the Islanders captain.
Okposo had scored his second of the season during a power play at 4:54 of the second to make it 2-2. Josh Bailey put New York ahead 1-0 in the first before Hall struck.
Hall gave the Oilers a 2-1 lead when he scored a pair of goals just 8 seconds apart in the first. That broke the club mark of 9 seconds, set by Wayne Gretzky on Feb. 18, 1981.
Tavares, who assisted on Okposo’s goal, has points in six straight games. New York (3-2-2) has played six one-goal games this season.
The Islanders, 2-0-2 at home, surrendered late tying goals to Columbus and Buffalo before losing in shootouts at Nassau Coliseum.
The struggling Oilers fell to 1-6-1. Their lone win was a 5-4 shootout home victory over New Jersey on Oct. 7.
Edmonton has had its struggles on Long Island, too. This was the Oilers’ seventh straight road loss to the Islanders and their ninth in 12 overall meetings with New York.
They haven’t beaten the Islanders on the road since Dec. 14, 1999.
Okposo’s power-play goal, which came while Luke Gazdic served a tripping penalty, pulled the Islanders even.
After Bailey opened the scoring at 9:59 of the first, Hall tied it with at 15:52 with a wrist shot from the left circle. He then knocked a rebound past goalie Evgeni Nabokov at 16:00.
The 21-year-old Hall, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NHL draft, has three goals this season.
Except for the lapse during Hall’s scoring spurt, the Islanders dominated a briskly played first period, outshooting the Oilers 16-7. New York outshot Edmonton 40-29 overall.
The 38-year-old Nabokov made several sharp saves among 27 stops for the Islanders, particularly on a one-timer by Nail Yakupov midway through the second. He recorded his 338th career win, 18th on the NHL list.
The Oilers, who have allowed a league-high 35 goals, were coming off a 3-2 loss at Pittsburgh on Tuesday after a 4-2 defeat at Washington the previous night.
NOTES: The teams will meet March 6 in Edmonton. . The Oilers are 0-3-1 on a six-game trip which continues in Ottawa on Saturday and concludes in Montreal on Oct. 22. . The Oilers were missing centre Sam Gagner (broken jaw) and defenceman Corey Potter (back). . Fans booed Edmonton’s Ryan Smyth every time he touched the puck. Smyth left the Islanders after playing only 18 games after a heralded trade late in the 2006-07 season.
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