Strome Helps Islanders Rally For 5-4 Win Over Stars
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DALLAS (AP) — Ryan Strome played beautifully on Thursday night as the Islanders bounced back after a game he called "ugly."
Strome had a goal and two assists, and New York rallied with four straight goals for a 5-4 victory over the Dallas Stars.
"A pretty ugly game for us," Strome said of Saturday's 7-0 loss at Columbus. "Then tonight, to get down 3-1, you've got to kind of look yourself in the mirror. No panic, we got a couple goals and just plugged away."
Strome scored the game's first goal, then assisted on Andrew Ladd's second-period goal and Dennis Seidenberg's tiebreaker from the blue line at 7:46 of the third.
"Strome made a great play just running it," Seidenberg said. "I don't know how it came to me on the point."
Strome had a season-high three points for the second time in five games.
The Islanders, in a tight race for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, have won four of those five games and are 3-1 on a nine-game road trip. They were 7-13-4 away from home when the trip began.
"For the most part, good road hockey, and that's winning you hockey games," Seidenberg said.
Nick Leddy and Nikolay Kulemin also scored in the third for New York. The Islanders outshot Dallas 14-7 in the period.
Stars captain Jamie Benn scored on the power play in the first period and short-handed in the third. Radek Faksa and Jason Spezza had second-period goals that gave Dallas its 3-1 lead.
Thomas Greiss made 22 saves for New York, while Antti Niemi stopped 28 shots for Dallas.
Ladd pulled the Islanders within a goal at 14:49. Strome hit the right post with a shot, and Ladd was there to put in the rebound.
Leddy tied the game 3-all just 25 seconds into the third period. Niemi deflected Leddy's slap shot from the point to the right off the boards behind the net. The puck bounced off Niemi's left skate and back into the net.
"You watch one go in off the end wall," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said, and you think, "What's going to happen next?"
Seidenberg's goal also came from the blue line.
"If we defend better, we should be going into overtime," Ruff said. "There's no excuse for the way we defended a couple of those goals. A couple tough goals and a couple real bad plays defensively. Fourth goal killed us."
Leddy had an assist on Kulemin's goal in the third. The Islanders outshot Dallas 14-7 in the period.
"They get two good chances and we're down by two, and it doesn't look good," New York interim coach Doug Weight said. "But (we) came out a confident hockey club. Really big on the road to come out with a third like that."
Spezza had a goal and an assist. Tyler Seguin assisted on the Stars' first two goals.
Dallas traded four players before this week's deadline, and lost at least one forward when Antoine Roussel left with an upper-body injury.
"It's not good news," Ruff said. "Probably the rest of the year."
Ales Hemsky, in his second game this season following hip surgery, played just three minutes after blocking a shot with his left leg. Ruff said Hemsky would be evaluated on Friday.
Strome's goal came when he skated on a breakaway from his own end to just in front of Niemi and slipped a short-range wrist shot between the goalie's legs at 9:29 of the first period.
NOTES: Joshua Ho-Sang, a 21-year-old center, made his NHL debut for the Islanders. ... New York LW Anthony Beauvillier was scratched because of an illness. ... D Johnny Boychuk played in his 200th game for the Islanders. ... Seguin has 41 assists, giving him 40 or more in each of his four seasons with Dallas. ... Spezza has 36 points (16 goals, 20 assists) in 36 career games vs. the Islanders. ... Benn has 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) during a 13-game home scoring streak. ... The Stars finished 3-2 on their homestand.
UP NEXT
Islanders: At the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, the fifth stop on their long road trip.
Stars: Begin a two-game trip Saturday at Florida. Dallas plays 10 of its 14 games in March on the road.
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