Anders Lee scored twice Tuesday night for the visiting New York Islanders, who snapped an 11-game losing streak and earned their first win in more than a month by beating the Ottawa Senators 5-3.
The Islanders went 0-8-3 dating back to Nov. 7, a span in which they were ravaged by injuries and a COVID-19 outbreak. The losing streak was the longest for New York since a 14-game skid (0-11-3) in 2010.
Oliver Wahlstrom scored 27 seconds before Lee’s second goal in the middle period — a tally that gave the Islanders their first multi-goal lead since their previous win, a 2-0 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 6.
Kieffer Bellows and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each scored in the third as New York scored its most goals since a 6-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 4.
Goalie Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves
Josh Norris, Nick Holden and Alex Formenton scored for the Senators, whose three-game winning streak was snapped. Ottawa hasn’t won more than three straight since a six-game winning streak from March 2 through March 11, 2017.
Goalie Filip Gustavsson recorded 22 saves.
Lee, who was one of eight Islanders sidelined by COVID-19, put back the wide rebound of his own point-blank shot to open the scoring three minutes into the second.
Norris scored on the power play 6:44 later, when he took a cross-ice pass from Drake Batherson, went to one knee and ripped a shot past Sorokin.
Wahlstrom went from his forehand to the backhand to beat Gustavsson with 5:54 left in the second before Lee quickly extended the lead. Bellows scored 6:26 into the third before Holden’s shot glanced off the skate of Noah Dobson and fluttered past Sorokin 1:45 later.
Pageau scored off a faceoff win by the Islanders with 7:34 left. Formenton scored a short-handed goal with 4:06 remaining, but the Senators got no closer despite pulling Gustavsson in the final two minutes.
–Field Level Media