UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- When the New York Islanders lead was cut in half in the opening minute of the third period, the sense of impending doom began wafting through Nassau Coliseum. After all, the Islanders had won just nine of 20 previous games in which they led after two periods. But Ryan Strome scored 39 seconds later to restore the two-goal lead, and New York cruised from there Saturday night to a 4-1 victory over the lowly Buffalo Sabres. On a recently completed road trip, the Islanders let two-goal leads get away in the third periods of losses to Edmonton and Calgary on consecutive nights. "When (Buffalo) got that power-play goal to start the third period, I know you guys were thinking, Here we go again," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "We battled back and we were resilient. It was a good bench. Guys were positive." Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo staked the Islanders to a 2-0 lead in the first period. Strome then netted the big goal to push back the Sabres, and Cal Clutterbuck sealed the win with an empty-net goal one night after New York lost 4-3 at home to San Jose. The Islanders (26-34-9) earned their 10th home win (10-17-8), and did it in a rare matchup against an opponent they are ahead of in the standings. "Anybody can beat anybody in this league no matter where you are," Okposo said. "Thats been proven throughout this whole year. Theyve got some skill over there. "We stuck with our game plan and we outplayed them." Backup goalie Anders Nilsson (3-4-2) earned the win in his 15th NHL game. He lost his shutout bid 56 seconds into the third when Tyler Ennis scored. Nilsson made 33 saves while subbing for No. 1 netminder Evgeni Nabokov, who lost on Friday. "I had the post with me one time, and I think the whole team in front of me played an unbelievable game," said Nilsson, who will turn 24 next week. "They cleared the guys who were in front of me, so I got a clear view of every shot. That makes it a lot easier." Jhonas Enroth stopped 34 shots for Buffalo, which has the fewest points and goals in the NHL. "Scoring has been our problem all season. Tonight was no different," Enroth said. "The effort was there, but we struggle to finish." Earlier in this disappointing season, the Islanders and Sabres swapped star forwards Matt Moulson and Thomas Vanek, but both impending free agents have both been dealt elsewhere since. Fans periodically voiced loud chants of "Snow Must Go," directed toward Islanders general manager Garth Snow. Despite being outshot 14-10 and short-handed three times in the first period, the Islanders took a 2-0 lead. Nielsen put New York in front before the games first stoppage, and Okposo doubled the lead with a power-play goal. After holding his stick in the air waiting to fire, Nielsen unleashed a hard drive from the left circle that struck Enroths glove and found its way in at 3:31 for his 22nd goal. Okposo made it 2-0 with 2:36 left when he corralled a pass from Brock Nelson in the slot and whipped a shot past Enroth 1:11 into Henrik Tallinders holding penalty. It was Okposos team-leading 27th goal and 69th point. He also helped set up Nielsens goal, tying him with injured captain John Tavares with a club-best 42 assists. New York nearly had a third goal, but Enroth made a fine stop against Josh Bailey at the left post when he tried to follow up on Nelsons wraparound attempt. Buffalo mustered five shots during its three failed power plays in the first period. The only advantage the Sabres gave to the Islanders in the frame proved costly when Okposo scored on New Yorks only shot. The trend reversed in the second when New York had a 14-10 shots edge, but neither team scored. Nilssons first scare came when he stopped a shot by Matt DAgostini 2:13 into the second and then had to reach behind him after the puck slid through him and trickled toward the open net. "I thought I had it, but then I heard the fans chanting a little, so I figured it was probably laying behind me," Nilsson said. "Those things happen, but luckily it didnt end up in the net." The Sabres nearly got on the board in the final two seconds of the middle frame when Drew Stafford ripped a shot off a faceoff win in the Islanders end during a Buffalo power play, but Nilsson was there to block it. Ennis scored his 18th goal during that advantage. "You cant expect to win if you score only one goal," Sabres coach Ted Nolan said. "We had some good looks, but we couldnt finish." NOTES: Okposo is one goal shy of 100 in the NHL. ... The Sabres recalled D Rasmus Ristolainen from Rochester (AHL) due to the absence of D Tyler Myers (arm), who will also likely miss Sundays home game against Montreal. ... New York agreed to terms with 2012 draft pick D Adam Pelech on a three-year, entry-level contract. Stephen Curry Team USA Jersey . -- The Los Angeles Clippers chose not to speak publicly about owner Donald Sterling before they faced the Golden State Warriors for Game 4 of their first-round series Sunday. John Stockton USA Jersey .com) - The Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings are ready to put all the talk and hype surrounding their meeting at Dodger Stadium behind them. http://www.teamusaolympicsshop.us/Olympi...ler-Usa-Jersey/. Certainly not Monday night. George Hill took care of the early work, scoring a season-high 26 points, and Paul George closed it out by scoring 11 of his 26 points during a decisive second-half stretch that finally allowed Indiana to pull away from Minnesota 98-84 for yet another win. Karl Malone USA Jersey .The surgery was performed by Dr. William Meyers at the Vincera Institute in Philadelphia.Letestu had three goals and two assists in nine games before being injured in late October.The 29-year-old has 54 goals and 65 assists in 273 career NHL games, including 39 goals and 51 assists in 188 games with the Blue Jackets. James Harden USA Jersey . The 24-year-old right winger has one assist in nine games this season with the Sabres. In his career, he has three goals and six assists in 43 NHL games.The Ottawa Senators made a low-risk investment, both in terms of picks and contract, in an effort to boost their offence. Numbers Game looks at the Senators getting Ales Hemsky from the Edmonton Oilers for a pair of draft picks. The Senators Get: RW Ales Hemsky. Hemsky, 30, is not the two-time 70-point scorer that he was earlier in his career, but there are some factors working in his favour, at least in terms of producing more offensively. For one thing, he has good possession numbers while facing high-quality opposition and starting an unsually-low (43.9%) percentage of his shifts in the offensive zone. If the Senators plug Hemskys playmaking skill alongside Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek, that would have to be considered a much better situation for an offensive player than Hemskys role in Edmonton this year, where his most common centre was checker Boyd Gordon. The Senators are in tough to try and get into the playoffs -- four points out with 20 games remaining -- but its not impossible and adding Hemsky does give them a decent chance to have a second productive scoring line. Perhaps the real coup of the deal for the Senators is that they convinced the Oilers to retain half of Hemskys salary and while thats not a huge deal for a pending unrestricted free agent, it makes for a cheap addition of a top six forward. Thhe Oilers Get: A fifth-round pick and 2015 third-round pick.dddddddddddd The net return on this deal is remarkably little for the Oilers. Cumulatively, a fifth and third-round pick brings approximately a 36% chance of landing an NHL UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- When the New York Islanders lead was cut in half in the opening minute of the third period, the sense of impending doom began wafting through Nassau Coliseum. After all, the Islanders had won just nine of 20 previous games in which they led after two periods. But Ryan Strome scored 39 seconds later to restore the two-goal lead, and New York cruised from there Saturday night to a 4-1 victory over the lowly Buffalo Sabres. On a recently completed road trip, the Islanders let two-goal leads get away in the third periods of losses to Edmonton and Calgary on consecutive nights. "When (Buffalo) got that power-play goal to start the third period, I know you guys were thinking, Here we go again," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "We battled back and we were resilient. It was a good bench. Guys were positive." Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo staked the Islanders to a 2-0 lead in the first period. Strome then netted the big goal to push back the Sabres, and Cal Clutterbuck sealed the win with an empty-net goal one night after New York lost 4-3 at home to San Jose. The Islanders (26-34-9) earned their 10th home win (10-17-8), and did it in a rare matchup against an opponent they are ahead of in the standings. "Anybody can beat anybody in this league no matter where you are," Okposo said. "Thats been proven throughout this whole year. Theyve got some skill over there. "We stuck with our game plan and we outplayed them." Backup goalie Anders Nilsson (3-4-2) earned the win in his 15th NHL game. He lost his shutout bid 56 seconds into the third when Tyler Ennis scored. Nilsson made 33 saves while subbing for No. 1 netminder Evgeni Nabokov, who lost on Friday. "I had the post with me one time, and I think the whole team in front of me played an unbelievable game," said Nilsson, who will turn 24 next week. "They cleared the guys who were in front of me, so I got a clear view of every shot. That makes it a lot easier." Jhonas Enroth stopped 34 shots for Buffalo, which has the fewest points and goals in the NHL. "Scoring has been our problem all season. Tonight was no different," Enroth said. "The effort was there, but we struggle to finish." Earlier in this disappointing season, the Islanders and Sabres swapped star forwards Matt Moulson and Thomas Vanek, but both impending free agents have both been dealt elsewhere since. Fans periodically voiced loud chants of "Snow Must Go," directed toward Islanders general manager Garth Snow. Despite being outshot 14-10 and short-handed three times in the first period, the Islanders took a 2-0 lead. Nielsen put New York in front before the games first stoppage, and Okposo doubled the lead with a power-play goal. After holding his stick in the air waiting to fire, Nielsen unleashed a hard drive from the left circle that struck Enroths glove and found its way in at 3:31 for his 22nd goal. Okposo made it 2-0 with 2:36 left when he corralled a pass from Brock Nelson in the slot and whipped a shot past Enroth 1:11 into Henrik Tallinders holding penalty. It was Okposos team-leading 27th goal and 69th point. He also helped set up Nielsens goal, tying him with injured captain John Tavares with a club-best 42 assists. New York nearly had a third goal, but Enroth made a fine stop against Josh Bailey at the left post when he tried to follow up on Nelsons wraparound attempt. Buffalo mustered five shots during its three failed power plays in the first period. The only advantage the Sabres gave to the Islanders in the frame proved costly when Okposo scored on New Yorks only shot. The trend reversed in the second when New York had a 14-10 shots edge, but neither team scored. Nilssons first scare came when he stopped a shot by Matt DAgostini 2:13 into the second and then had to reach behind him after the puck slid through him and trickled toward the open net. "I thought I had it, but then I heard the fans chanting a little, so I figured it was probably laying behind me," Nilsson said. "Those things happen, but luckily it didnt end up in the net." The Sabres nearly got on the board in the final two seconds of the middle frame when Drew Stafford ripped a shot off a faceoff win in the Islanders end during a Buffalo power play, but Nilsson was there to block it. Ennis scored his 18th goal during that advantage. "You cant expect to win if you score only one goal," Sabres coach Ted Nolan said. "We had some good looks, but we couldnt finish." NOTES: Okposo is one goal shy of 100 in the NHL. ... The Sabres recalled D Rasmus Ristolainen from Rochester (AHL) due to the absence of D Tyler Myers (arm), who will also likely miss Sundays home game against Montreal. ... New York agreed to terms with 2012 draft pick D Adam Pelech on a three-year, entry-level contract. Stephen Curry Team USA Jersey . -- The Los Angeles Clippers chose not to speak publicly about owner Donald Sterling before they faced the Golden State Warriors for Game 4 of their first-round series Sunday. John Stockton USA Jersey .com) - The Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings are ready to put all the talk and hype surrounding their meeting at Dodger Stadium behind them. http://www.teamusaolympicsshop.us/Olympi...ler-Usa-Jersey/. Certainly not Monday night. George Hill took care of the early work, scoring a season-high 26 points, and Paul George closed it out by scoring 11 of his 26 points during a decisive second-half stretch that finally allowed Indiana to pull away from Minnesota 98-84 for yet another win. Karl Malone USA Jersey .The surgery was performed by Dr. William Meyers at the Vincera Institute in Philadelphia.Letestu had three goals and two assists in nine games before being injured in late October.The 29-year-old has 54 goals and 65 assists in 273 career NHL games, including 39 goals and 51 assists in 188 games with the Blue Jackets. James Harden USA Jersey . The 24-year-old right winger has one assist in nine games this season with the Sabres. In his career, he has three goals and six assists in 43 NHL games.The Ottawa Senators made a low-risk investment, both in terms of picks and contract, in an effort to boost their offence. Numbers Game looks at the Senators getting Ales Hemsky from the Edmonton Oilers for a pair of draft picks. The Senators Get: RW Ales Hemsky. Hemsky, 30, is not the two-time 70-point scorer that he was earlier in his career, but there are some factors working in his favour, at least in terms of producing more offensively. For one thing, he has good possession numbers while facing high-quality opposition and starting an unsually-low (43.9%) percentage of his shifts in the offensive zone. If the Senators plug Hemskys playmaking skill alongside Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek, that would have to be considered a much better situation for an offensive player than Hemskys role in Edmonton this year, where his most common centre was checker Boyd Gordon. The Senators are in tough to try and get into the playoffs -- four points out with 20 games remaining -- but its not impossible and adding Hemsky does give them a decent chance to have a second productive scoring line. Perhaps the real coup of the deal for the Senators is that they convinced the Oilers to retain half of Hemskys salary and while thats not a huge deal for a pending unrestricted free agent, it makes for a cheap addition of a top six forward. Thhe Oilers Get: A fifth-round pick and 2015 third-round pick.dddddddddddd The net return on this deal is remarkably little for the Oilers. Cumulatively, a fifth and third-round pick brings approximately a 36% chance of landing an NHL player, and that player is likely not going to be in the league for three or four years, at least. Its one thing to roll the dice on a few picks, but to also pick up half of Hemskys cap hit is a tad generous, but this is likely a function of how the Oilers have used Hemsky this season. If he was played in an offensive role throughout the year and put up points, there would be greater demand for his services which would obviously bring a better return. Since Hemsky was effectively playing on the Oilers third line, there is room to plug in the likes of Ryan Jones or Jesse Joensuu to fill the spot. Presumably there will be an attempt in the offseason to find a more suitable top nine forward to fill the void created by Hemskys departure. In any case, the Hemsky Era in Edmonton is over, after 477 points in 652 games, and hes going to have a decent shot to rehabilitate his offensive image before hitting free agency in the summer. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' 'o be in the league for three or four years, at least. Its one thing to roll the dice on a few picks, but to also pick up half of Hemskys cap hit is a tad generous, but this is likely a function of how the Oilers have used Hemsky this season. If he was played in an offensive role throughout the year and put up points, there would be greater demand for his services which would obviously bring a better return. Since Hemsky was effectively playing on the Oilers third line, there is room to plug in the likes of Ryan Jones or Jesse Joensuu to fill the spot. Presumably there will be an attempt in the offseason to find a more suitable top nine forward to fill the void created by Hemskys departure. In any case, the Hemsky Era in Edmonton is over, after 477 points in 652 games, and hes going to have a decent shot to rehabilitate his offensive image before hitting free agency in the summer. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '