ATLANTA — Dustin Byfuglien stepped up for Atlanta to send the Islanders deeper into their free-fall to the bottom of the NHL.
Byfuglien scored at 1:30 of overtime to give the Thrashers a 2-1 victory Sunday, extending the reeling Islanders' losing streak to 13 games.
The Islanders have their longest winless streak since playing 14 straight without a win Feb. 13-March 15, 1990. That streak included three ties.
The 6-foot-5, 265-pound Byfuglien drilled a powerful shot between the circles past Rick DiPietro.
"I was looking to pass, but I had a shot, saw it and took it," Byfuglien said.
The Islanders have only 12 goals in their past 11 games.
"We had several chances to win," New York's Matt Moulson said. "We have to score goals. … You can't take comfort in getting just one point."
DiPietro, who had allowed 17 goals while losing his past three starts, made 33 saves and held the Thrashers to one goal in regulation.
"He was our best player," New York interim coach Jack Capuano said. "He was outstanding. He was what I thought he was going to be."
DiPietro couldn't stop the winner by Byfuglien, the playoff star for the Blackhawks last season who leads the NHL with four winning shots this season.
"I'm not sure what happened," DiPietro said. "He made a nice shot."
Thrashers coach Craig Ramsay said Byfuglien flourishes with the game on the line.
"He wants to be a difference-maker all the time," Ramsay said. "That's the biggest asset a hockey player can have … is to want to be the difference-maker, to want to be the guy, to be the man. He puts his hand up."
Byfuglien also had an assist. He has seven goals and 19 points.
The Islanders (4-12-4) haven't won since opening the season 4-1-2.
"It's unacceptable for us," DiPietro said. "We need to win games. There are no excuses. … It's frustrating, because we know what we're capable of doing."
The Islanders are 0-3 since Scott Gordon was fired as coach. New York has been outscored 10-4 in two games under Capuano, the former AHL coach, and 48-18 during the losing streak.
Game highlights: Henrik Zetterberg tied it on a power play with 3.2 seconds left in regulation and goalie Jimmy Howard off for an extra attacker, and Nicklas Lidstrom scored at 1:38 of overtime to give the host Red Wings a 5-4 victory over the Flames. Zetterberg had two goals, Lidstrom added two assists and Howard made 23 saves. In the final seconds of regulation, Zetterberg tipped in Pavel Datsyuk's pass on a 2-on-1 for his seventh goal. "We've been behind a few games this year and found a way to turn it around," Zetterberg said. "It's nice when it happens."
Around the league: The Flyers acquired forward Rob Bordson and defenseman Danny Syvret from the Ducks for forwards Patrick Maroon and David Laliberte. The Flyers said Bordson and Syvret will report to their AHL affiliate, the Adirondack Phantoms. Syvret returns to the Flyers organization, where he played the past two seasons.
First Period—None. Penalties—Reese, NYI (holding stick), 10:02.
Second Period—1, N.Y. Islanders, Grabner 4 (Nielsen, Martinek), 19:47. Penalties—Bogosian, Atl (hooking), :21; Moulson, NYI (hooking), 3:39; Peverley, Atl (high-sticking), 12:14; Hainsey, Atl (holding), 18:08; Tavares, NYI (cross-checking), 18:41.
Third Period—2, Atlanta, Antropov 6 (Ladd, Byfuglien), 2:25 (pp). Penalties—Konopka, NYI (holding), 2:12; Stewart, Atl (delay of game), 14:47.
Overtime—3, Atlanta, Byfuglien 7 (Enstrom, Ladd), 1:30. Penalties—None. Shots on Goal—N.Y. Islanders 6-15-8-0—29. Atlanta 14-10-10-1—35. Power-play opportunities—N.Y. Islanders 0 of 4; Atlanta 1 of 4. Goalies—N.Y. Islanders, DiPietro 2-3-3 (35 shots-33 saves). Atlanta, Pavelec 3-4-2 (29-28). A—10,066 (18,545). T—2:24.
|at Red Wings||1||0||3||1||5|
First Period—1, Detroit, Franzen 9 (Rafalski, Lidstrom), 1:56 (pp). 2, Calgary, Hagman 6 (Iginla), 5:21. Penalties—Regehr, Cal (interference), :55; Jackman, Cal (boarding), 7:07; Giordano, Cal (holding), 10:38; Hagman, Cal (holding), 17:38.
Second Period—3, Calgary, Iginla 7 (Stajan), :54. 4, Calgary, Iginla 8 (Tanguay), 4:09 (pp). Penalties—Bertuzzi, Det (holding), 3:26; Backlund, Cal (roughing), 19:48; Abdelkader, Det (roughing), 19:48.
Third Period—5, Detroit, Datsyuk 7 (Lidstrom, Rafalski), 2:28 (pp). 6, Calgary, Tanguay 6, 7:14. 7, Detroit, Zetterberg 6 (Datsyuk, N.Kronwall), 11:04. 8, Detroit, Zetterberg 7 (Datsyuk, Rafalski), 19:56 (pp). Penalties—Sarich, Cal (hooking), 1:53; Bertuzzi, Det (interference, unsportsmanlike conduct), 8:02; Hagman, Cal (slashing), 9:28; Stajan, Cal (holding), 15:29; Iginla, Cal (unsportsmanlike conduct), 18:04; Bouwmeester, Cal (interference), 18:04; Abdelkader, Det (unsportsmanlike conduct), 18:04.
Overtime—9, Detroit, Lidstrom 3 (Helm, Bertuzzi), 1:38. Penalties—None. Shots on Goal—Calgary 6-13-8-0—27. Detroit 9-11-14-4—38. Power-play opportunities—Calgary 1 of 3; Detroit 3 of 7. Goalies—Calgary, Kiprusoff 7-9-1 (38 shots-33 saves). Detroit, Howard 11-1-2 (27-23). A—19,636 (20,066). T—2:34.