Islanders overcome key injury to take down Ducks

Anders Lee had two goals and four points Thursday night for the New York Islanders, who lost Bo Horvat to a lower-body injury while beating the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 in Elmont, N.Y.

Horvat, who leads the Islanders with 31 points (19 goals and 12 assists), twisted his ankle after getting tied up with Ducks defenseman Drew Helleson and the Islanders ahead 3-1. The 30-year-old immediately exited the ice. The Islanders announced he was done for the night just before the third period.

The Islanders, who won five of their last six and entered Thursday in third place in the Metropolitan Division, lost defenseman Alexander Romanov (right shoulder) and right winger Kyle Palmieri (torn left ACL) to season-ending injuries last month.

Travis Mitchell opened the scoring for the Islanders while Simon Holmstrom and Ryan Pulock added goals in the third period. Goalie David Rittich made 31 saves.

Leo Carlsson and Troy Terry scored for the Ducks, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. Goalie Ville Husso recorded 31 saves.

The Islanders scored three times on just nine shots during an 11-minute span in the first.

Mitchell collected his first career goal at the 8:18 mark. Scott Mayfield's shot glanced off the boards to the right of Husso but caromed around the Ducks' net and to Mitchell, who buried the rebound past a sprawling Husso.

Lee scored on the power play just 1:58 later, when he redirected Tony DeAngelo's shot from the high slot.

Lee and DeAngelo hooked up again on the power play with 54 seconds left in the period. Another shot from the slot by DeAngelo glanced off Husso before Lee tucked home the rebound past Husso's glove.

The Ducks answered with a power play goal 5:34 into the second. Terry fed a drop pass to Carlsson, who moved into the left faceoff circle before firing a shot that sailed past Rittich into the far corner of the net.

Terry pulled the Ducks within a goal by scoring a short-handed goal 2:37 into the third. Holmstrom extended the lead to two goals again fewer than four minutes later before Pulock scored his first goal of the season with 5:14 left.

--Field Level Media