The Islanders needed this one, but more than that, they needed this one in this way. They needed to hold a lead in the third period, something they’ve failed to do in five of the past seven games, and they needed the special teams to thrive after Patrick Roy called the power play “awful” a little more than 24 hours prior in Washington.

The Sabres are also playing on a back to back, and are also coming off an overtime loss, as they fell to the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 in OT on Friday afternoon. Dylan Cozens, Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram scored for Buffalo while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen tuned aside 18 of 22 shots.

The Sabres’ first action after Thanksgiving did not go as planned last night, as the blue and gold were defeated in OT by the Vancouver Canucks. The team has a chance to get right back on the saddle on the road against the New York Islanders.