Recap: NY Islanders vs. Edmonton

Published online on Monday, Nov. 02, 2009

Defenseman Brendan Witt got his first career two-goal game and Dwayne Roloson made 22 saves, as the New York Islanders took a 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers.

Witt, in his 14th NHL campaign, had never before scored more than three goals in a single season. His pair of scores gave him 25 for his career, and his last goal came in a January 22, 2008 contest against Carolina.

"Throughout a year, you're going to get your bad bounces and you're going to get your lucky bounces," Witt said. "So take 'em as they come, and I thought we played pretty hard tonight, pretty disciplined. Just keep this thing rolling."

John Tavares also scored for the Islanders, who have won four in a row after taking just one victory over their first 10 games.

Ethan Moreau had the lone goal for Edmonton, which has lost five of six. Nikolai Khabibulin allowed all three goals on 37 shots in the setback.

"How many times did you see two or three of our defense right dead in the slot? We don't even hit the bloody net," Oilers head coach Pat Quinn said. "They want to wind it up and crank it through."

Moreau gave the Oilers the lead at the 11:02 mark of the first period with a wraparound score.

Nearly four minutes later, Matt Moulson scooped up the loose puck behind the Edmonton net and emerged on the right side, dishing a pass to the slot for Tavares, who buried a one-timer with 5:09 remaining.

New York then got a pair of goals from Witt in the second period to take the lead. His first, a wrister from the left boards, put the Isles on top 2:32 into the frame.

Just over 10 minutes later, he took a shot from the blue line, and the puck found its way through traffic across the goal line to make it a 3-1 game.

Roloson made eight saves in the second period and six in the third to make the lead stick.

Game Notes