Islanders hold on to beat Vegas Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS — Great atmosphere, great town, great win. The Islanders headed into the All-Star break on a high note after a 2-1 win over the high-flying Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night behind Jaroslav Halak’s 38 saves and a strong, energetic final two periods.

The Islanders, who have relied on offense to carry them this season, surrendered one goal for only the third time. They took a page from the Vegas playbook: Clog lanes and pack the front of the net to disrupt the speedy Golden Knights (32-12-4), who lost in regulation at home for only the third time (19-3-2) this season.

“I think we frustrated them a little bit,” Doug Weight said after his team finished off a 2-0-1 road trip. “We were starving for a 2-1 win and we got it against the best team in the league.”

The first period was a mixed bag as the Islanders started off doing what Weight and the coaching staff preached during a spirited Wednesday practice. They followed it up with “11 of the worst minutes we’ve played all season,” according to Weight, as the Knights revved up their game to pounce on Islanders mistakes and create a bushel of odd-man rushes.

Halak was superb, however. He got a glove on David Perron’s shot on a Vegas three-on-one, then denied Brendan Leipsic on a breakaway, again with the glove. The Isles escaped the first period scoreless.

“Jaro made some unbelievable saves there in the first, when we were a little slow,” Jordan Eberle said. “He kept us in it.”

The Islanders got an earful from Weight and got back to basics in the second: Pucks in, go to work. An unlikely source gave them the lead when Ross Johnston threw a puck toward the slot and it deflected off Cody Eakin’s stick and behind Marc-Andre Fleury at 10:01 for Johnston’s first NHL goal.

With a one-goal lead in the third, the Islanders still were playing extremely disciplined hockey. Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier forced Colin Miller into a turnover inside the Knights’ zone and Barzal fed Eberle for a wrister past Fleury at 8:21 for a much-needed second goal — and loud chants of “Yes! Yes! Yes!” from the several hundred Islanders fans that made the trip out.

“I just needed to make some saves in the first and the guys came out in the second and third and worked hard,” Halak said. “We got five points of six on this trip. We should be happy with that.”

A late penalty led to Erik Haula’s deflection past Halak with 5:07 to go to get the Knights on the board. Halak made a difficult stop on Perron with 17 seconds left to preserve the victory.

The Islanders are a point out of the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference but two points out of second in the Metropolitan Division, with six teams clogged in a tight race. The boost from this win could be something this defense-optional team needs.

“Two teams have walked out of here with two regulation points in four months,” Weight said. “That’s pretty special. Hopefully we look back on this one and it vaults us to do some good things.”

Notes & quotes: Josh Bailey and John Tavares will head to Tampa on Friday for All-Star Weekend. For Bailey, it’s a family affair. His parents, his brother and some other relatives and friends were in Vegas for Thursday’s game and will fly to Florida, where Bailey and his wife, Meg, will host numerous family members for his first All-Star Game in his 10th NHL season . . . Sebastian Aho and Tanner Fritz were selected for the AHL All-Star Game this weekend in Utica but cannot participate because both are on the Islanders’ roster. “To get picked, you must have done something good,” Aho said. “It’s a great feeling. I was looking forward to it, but it’s not the worst thing not to go — it means I’m doing something good here, too. But it’s nice to be selected.” Bridgeport goalie Christopher Gibson and defenseman Mitch Vande Sompel were picked to replace Aho and Fritz . . . Casey Cizikas (hand) and Johnny Boychuk (lower body) skated Thursday, but neither was ready to return.