UNIONDALE, N.Y. - Nikolay Kulemin scored the go-ahead goal with 9:27 left and the New York Islanders beat the Washington Capitals 3-1 on Saturday to force Game 7 in the first-round playoff series.
Islanders captain John Tavares had a goal and assist, and Nick Leddy had two assists in what could still be the franchise's final game at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Cal Clutterbuck then got the loud crowd on its feet to seal the win with an empty-net goal with 53 seconds remaining.
John Carlson scored for the Capitals, who will host the deciding game Monday night. The series winner advances to face the Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers.
Jaroslav Halak made 38 saves to bounce back from a 5-1 loss in Game 5 on Thursday night.
Kulemin's goal came during a frantic stretch in which officials allowed the play to continue despite players from both teams tangling in front of their benches.
Tavares started the play by driving in and attempting to split two defenders. He failed to get a shot off and then was bowled over heavily in the left corner by Alex Ovechkin and Karl Alzner. No one seemed to notice that the puck squirted to Leddy at the left boards. He then fed Kulemin, who was all alone in front. Kulemin went across the top of the crease and wrapped the puck inside the left post.
RED WINGS 4, LIGHTNING 0
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Petr Mrazek stopped 28 shots and Detroit rebounded from a disappointing loss to shut down Tampa Bay and take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference first-round series.
Riley Sheahan, Drew Miller, Pavel Datsyuk and Danny DeKeyser scored for the Red Wings. They can close out the Eastern Conference matchup by winning Game 6 at home Monday night.
The shutout was the second of the series for the young Mrazek, who had no previous NHL playoff experience before being named Detroit's starter over veteran Jimmy Howard. The 23-year-old goalie blanked the Lightning 3-0 in Game 3 at home and also had the only shutout against the league's highest-scoring team during the regular season.
It was a frustrating evening for Tampa Bay, which rallied to win Game 4 on the road in overtime, evening the series after fizzling in Game 3.