DETROIT (AP) — Mathew Barzal had a tiebreaking goal with 6:02 left in the third period and Brock Nelson scored twice, lifting the Islanders to a 5-3 victory Thursday night that ended the Detroit Red Wings’ six-game winning streak.
Barzal sent a shot behind goaltender Alex Lyon and banked it into the net. Patrick Kane had a chance to pull the Red Wings into a third tie later in the third, but sent a shot wide of an open net.
Detroit pulled Lyon to add an extra skater and Pierre Engvall took advantage, sealing the victory with an empty-net goal — the Islanders’ first of the season — in the final minute.
Casey Cizikas scored in the first period and Nelson’s second goal broke a tie early in the third period. Ilya Sorokin finished with 23 saves for the Islanders.
Olli Maatta matched a career high with two goals, the first coming on a one-timer early in the second period. Kane tied it at 2 on a slick wrist shot 10 seconds into the third.
The Islanders had a power play early in the third and Nelson made the most of it, sending a wrist shot over Lyon’s left shoulder and glove to put them back ahead for his team-leading 27th goal.
Maatta scored again midway through the third to tie it at 3.
Lyon stopped 22 shots for the Red Wings, who lost for the first time in two-plus weeks.
Detroit had won six straight for the first time in nearly five years, putting it in the Eastern Conference’s first of two wild-card spots to increase the franchise’s chances of making the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
The Islanders are 6-5-3 since firing Lane Lambert and hiring Patrick Roy to linger in the playoff race as one of four teams — joining New Jersey, Washington and Pittsburgh — within 10 points of Detroit and Tampa Bay in the wild-card standings.
UP NEXT
Islanders: Host Boston on Saturday night.
Red Wings: Host Florida on Saturday.
