Isles beat Wings on Parenteau's OT goal

DETROIT - If the past two games are a harbinger of things to come, the Islanders should be very excited about 2011.

With their 4-3 overtime victory over the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena Friday night, the Islanders have beaten the top two teams in hockey to close out 2010. They've won five of their last six.

"It's a great way to start the new year," said PA Parenteau, who scored the game-winner in overtime as well as the shootout clincher two nights earlier in the Islanders' 2-1 win over the Penguins.

With the Islanders on the power play in overtime, Parenteau buried a beautiful pass from John Tavares with a one-timer from the left circle at 3:57.

In taking down the top team in each conference within 48 hours, the Islanders had other reasons to celebrate.

At age 41, Dwayne Roloson shows no sign of slowing down. The veteran netminder delivered a superb 38-save performance and led an inspired penalty-killing unit that stopped the powerful Detroit power play on five straight attempts. Detroit entered the game 6-for-8 on the power play in the previous two games and had scored with the man-advantage in six straight games.

Said Zenon Konopka, "It was a challenge. They were really hot coming in, but we stuck to our game plan. We sacrificed our bodies, and that's what the PK is all about."

Konopka's unrelenting hard work was rewarded. He went 13-for-20 from the faceoff circle and won a couple of key draws in the offensive zone that helped set up Islanders goals.

"He was as much as a star as Roli was tonight," Parenteau said. "A lot of times he goes under the radar, but he didn't tonight."

After Detroit's Johan Franzen opened the scoring in the first period, the Islanders tied it on a freakish goal credited to Matt Moulson after the Wings' Nick Lidstrom knocked the puck into his own net.

At the end of the period, Konopka won a faceoff and Tavares backhanded a loose puck that fluttered past Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard at 19:57 for a 2-1 lead.

Though the Islanders were outshot 21-4 in the first period, Roloson rode to the rescue.

"Roli was unbelievable," Konopka said. "He kept us in it when it could've gone south pretty early.''

The Islanders' stellar first-period penalty-killing effort continued in the second, bolstered by a bundle of beautiful saves from Roloson, who denied Niklas Kronwall's blistering shot from the slot with four seconds left on Detroit's third failed power-play attempt.

"It was remarkable," Parenteau said. "It's like he gets better with age."

Bridgeport call-up Jesse Joensuu, who replaced enforcer Trevor Gillies in the lineup, tipped Milan Jurcina's shot to give the Islanders a two-goal lead at 15:13 of the second. Konopka once again delivered a crucial faceoff win to set up the play.

With 8.4 seconds left in the second, Valtteri Filppula roofed the puck past a sprawling Roloson to pull Detroit within a goal, although it appeared Detroit's Todd Bertuzzi should've been whistled for goaltender interference. Detroit tied it up at 10:19 of the third when call-up Tomas Tatar scored his first NHL goal on a deflection.

The Islanders' penalty-kill came through when it mattered most, denying the Wings while they were up a man less than a minute into OT. Then the Islanders' power play reciprocated, converting the game-winner.

"Our special teams were excellent tonight," coach Jack Capuano said, on a special night for the Islanders.