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Thursday, Apr. 6 7:00pm ET
Isles' rookie goalie frustrates Sens | |||||
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BOX SCORE
KANATA, Ontario (AP) -- It had been 17 games and more than four years since the New York Islanders beat the Ottawa Senators. The Islanders had never won at the Corel Centre. That changed Thursday night when Mariusz Czerkawski and Brad Isbister scored and rookie goaltender Stephen Valiquette stopped 45 shots in a 2-1 win, the Islanders' first against the Senators after 12 losses and five ties dating back to Feb. 12, 1996. It was also just the first win in six games (1-4-1) for New York, who will miss the playoffs for the sixth straight year. Isbister broke a 1-1 tie with just more than eight minutes remaining and the Islanders hung on despite being outshot 46-13. Ottawa remained in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 91 points. The Senators have two regular-season games remaining and have just one win in their last five games (1-4-0). Their defeat clinched the Northeast Division title for Toronto. Toronto's division title is its first since the NHL went to a divisional format in 1967-68. The Maple Leafs had not finished first in any regular-season race since winning the regular-season title in 1962-63. "Their (the Islanders') season didn't start too good and it's been going downhill, so they've got nothing to lose right now," said Senators center Vaclav Prospal, who assisted on Petr Schastlivy's third-period goal that temporarily tied the game. "They've been trying out the guys who are in the minors and those guys played a really easy, relaxed game. "They're just showing themselves and their play in the big leagues." Valiquette was one of those players. Making just the second start of his career, he has stopped 94 of the 100 shots he's faced. "He's 2-0 . . . as a coach, maybe I haven't been playing him enough. He wasn't rattled, he had good position all night," Islanders coach Butch Goring said. "I didn't make any really big, big saves," said the 22-year-old Valiquette, who twice stopped Prospal from in close. "A lot of the shots were from the perimeter." Czerkawski picked up a loose puck in the slot and scored his team-leading 32nd goal early in the first. Valiquette held the Senators off the scoreboard until the third, when Schastlivy tied the game on a power play at 1:39. "We've got to start scoring some goals," Prospal said. "With one goal, we're not going to win too many games in the playoffs. We just made him look good." Isbister converted Steve Webb's centering pass with 8:18 left for the winner, extending his point-scoring streak to five games (two goals, five assists). Czerkawski's goal extended his scoring streak to seven games (six goals, four assists). Patrick Lalime (18-14-3) was pulled in the final minute in favor of an extra attacker, but Ottawa couldn't manage a shot on goal. "You can't just turn it around in the playoffs," said Lalime, who stopped 11 shots. "We've got to go out there (in the final two games), work hard and get some good habits." Ottawa right winger Kevin Dineen left the game after the first period with a slightly separated left shoulder and is expected to be out 7-10 days. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard NY Islanders Clubhouse Ottawa Clubhouse RECAPS NY Islanders 2 Ottawa 1 AUDIO/VIDEO   Mariusz Czerkawski's backhander beats Patrick Lalime.avi: 706 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1   | |||||