NY Islanders score late to earn point in 3-2 shootout loss to Buffalo Sabres

The New York Islanders forced extra time but ultimately came up short Saturday night, falling 3-2 to the Buffalo Sabres in a shootout as Josh Norris scored the deciding goal in the fifth round.

Mathew Barzal continued to drive the Isles' offense with Bo Horvat out, registering a goal and an assist, and Emil Heineman delivered a clutch moment late by tying the game with 29 seconds left in regulation on the power play after David Rittich was pulled for an extra attacker. Rittich finished with 30 saves as the Islanders earned a point despite playing their third game in four nights without injured leading scorer Bo Horvat.

Buffalo carried a 2-1 lead into the final minute after goals from Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson, but the Islanders stayed with it. Heineman buried the equalizer to send the game to overtime, where neither team could find a winner.

In the shootout, Barzal scored for New York, but Norris’ goal in the fifth round gave Buffalo the edge. Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon then denied Calum Ritchie to seal the outcome.

“We played a resilient game,” captain Anders Lee said. “The way the last two games have gone, I thought we really showed some character tonight. It didn’t go our way again early on in the game, but we stuck with it and dug in and found ourselves clawing back into the game and getting a big point.”

Barzal opened the Islanders’ scoring late in the second period, jumping on a rebound from his own shot with 23 seconds remaining. Buffalo had earlier taken control with Dahlin’s coast-to-coast power-play goal less than two minutes into the game and Thompson’s marker midway through the second. Heineman,who has been clutch lately, registered a game-high 10 shots on goal, with his final one of regulation being the equalizer. “I felt like we hadn’t been shooting a lot lately,” Heineman said. “I figured I’d didn’t want to think about it too much, so pretty [thought] just shoot it.”

The Islanders have now dropped three of four games as they continue to adjust without Horvat, but Saturday’s late push showed resilience and earned them a valuable road point.

The Isles host the New Jersey Devils at UBS Arena on Tuesday night before holiday break.