Islanders Get Shootout Win

Thanks in large part to Rick DiPietro (stopped 39 of 41), the Islanders pulled out a 3-2 shootout win in Toronto. The victory tied them with the Maple Leafs for ninth in the East with 62 points apiece. But more importantly, thanks to DiPietro's third period heroics in which he stopped all 16 shots sent his way when his team was dominated, the club is only two points behind the struggling eighth seeded Canadiens. Montreal was shutout 1-0 by Florida and dropped to eighth thanks to wins by Tampa Bay and Carolina.

After Viktor Kozlov went to the backhand to beat Andrew Raycroft in the shootout, DiPietro easily stopped a weak Nik Antropov try to give his team a huge two points.

Here is how the playoff race now stacks up:

Pts GR
6.Lightning 66 24
7.Hurricanes 65 23
8.Canadiens 64 24
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9.Leafs 62 25
10.Islanders 62 25
11.Rangers 59 26