The New York Islanders had the perfect opponent to end their mini regulation loss slump, but things were far too difficult against the 31st-place Ottawa Senators before the Isles pulled out a 5-4 (2-0) shootout win at Nassau Coliseum.
A wild second period saw an exchange of five goals from both teams and myriad opportunities for the home team, and that left things a little too close heading into the third period, allowing the Senators to force overtime.
With injuries and illness making the lineup TBD, the Isles had called up Michael Dal Colle and Josh Ho-Sang under emergency conditions.