Late goal beats DP, Islanders

NEWARK -- Officially ousted from the playoffs Saturday, the Islanders squandered their first opportunity to play spoilers last night, losing, 3-2, to the Devils at the Prudential Center.

Frans Nielsen scored twice to erase a two-goal deficit in the third but Andy Greene's clincher allowed the Devils' playoff hopes to last another day.

Facing potential elimination, the Devils' two points kept them mathematically alive in the Eastern Conference race.

Greene ripped a wrist shot past goal_tender Rick DiPietro for the go-ahead goal at 15:04.

"That first goal shook them a little bit. They started to make some mistakes, they started to be anxious with their decisions," Nielsen said. "We just can't let up that goal when we just tied it up."

With the Islanders trailing 2-0 in the third, Nielsen scored his league-leading seventh shorthanded goal to cut the Devils' lead in half. The Devils were awarded a four-minute power play on a phantom high-sticking call against call-up defenseman Mark Katic, but Nielsen beat Martin Brodeur with his effortless backhander at 9:28.

With his third-period marker, Nielsen tied a franchise record for most shorthanded goals in a season, set by Bob Bourne 30 years ago.

Nielsen was awarded his second goal after a sputtering puck glanced across the goal line for the equalizer at 13:44. The goal was reviewed to see if Nielsen made a kicking motion, but ultimately was upheld. "I tried to kick it first, but I missed it," Nielsen admitted.

Ilya Kovalchuk finished with a goal and an assist, chipping in on the first two Devils goals.

After stopping him on a breakaway early in the first, DiPietro was beaten by Kovalchuk later that shift for a 1-0 Devils lead at 4:17. Kovalchuk picked up a secondary assist on the Devils' second goal, scored by Swedish rookie Jacob Josefson at 3:23 in the second period.

"Tonight we battled," coach Jack Capuano said. "I liked our effort tonight."