John Tavares Nets Two Goals To Lead Islanders Over Coyotes

New York Islanders team captain John Tavares led his team to a 5-2 home victory over the Arizona Coyotes at Barclays Center on Monday night. This was the Islanders’ third win in four games. Tavares gained two goals and one assist, and Frans Nielsen, Brock Nelson, and Steve Bernier scored the three other goals, while Kyle Okposo got three assists. Goalie Jaroslav Halak blocked 31 shots to lead the Islanders to a 6-3-2 home record.

“I thought our guys were resilient tonight,” Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. “We played a good hockey team, and I thought we battled through it and had some legs under us.”

Martin Hanzal and Mikkel Boedker scored the two goals for the Coyotes in the third period with just over two minutes left, and goalie Anders Lindback ended up with 27 saves. Hanzal’s goal was his third of the season, but his 17th overall, which improved his team-leading point total.

This marked Arizona’s second straight loss, following Saturday’s 5-2 road loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Islanders gained control early, securing the game’s first seven shots, six of which were stopped by Lindback. Tavares scored on the seventh shot on a power play, 25 seconds after Arizona’s Antoine Vermette was sent to the penalty box for hooking. Tavares won a face-off and got a pass from Okposo.

After the first goal, Arizona countered by firing nine of the game’s next 12 shots, but Halak blocked all of them. The Islanders then responded with three more unanswered goals in the first 12 minutes of the third period. Tavares’ second goal came at 5:38 in the third after a set up from Nelson and Okposo. Bernier scored his first goal with the Islanders, the fourth of the game, with 8:10 remaining.

“Jaro was great all night,” Tavares said of Halak. “It’s unfortunate we couldn’t keep the zero for him. He was great, especially in the last 10 minutes, when they kind of just started throwing everything at the net, and a couple seemed to find its way.”

Tavares secured the 5-2 win with an empty-netter with 40 seconds left.

The Coyotes will play the Montreal Canadiens next in Montreal on Thursday, and the Islanders will also face the Canadiens at home on Friday.

NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 16: Shane Doan #19 of the Arizona Coyotes and John Tavares #91 of the New York Islanders battle for the puck during the first period at the Barclays Center on November 16, 2015 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)