UNIONDALE, N. Dominique Easley Jersey .Y. -- The New York Islanders were seeking a positive finish to a frustrating season on home ice. Ottawas Jason Spezza and Craig Anderson did their best to block that effort. Spezza scored twice and Anderson made 45 saves as the Senators topped the Islanders 4-1 on Tuesday night. The Senators (34-31-14) will still miss the post-season for the first time since 2011 and just the third time since 1996. They were making their first appearance this season at Nassau Coliseum, and the Islanders won the previous two meetings in Ottawa. "It feels good to put together a team effort and come away with the win," Anderson said. "We played well." Matt Kassian scored an empty-net goal at 19:48, his first this season. Spezza, the Senators captain, had the chance for a hat trick, but instead passed to Kassian. Frans Nielsen scored the lone goal for the Islanders with his career-best 25th in the teams home finale. Anders Nilsson made 28 saves for the Islanders (31-37-11), who wont reach the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years. They finished 13-19-9 at home. "The effort has been there and will continue to be there," Islanders defenceman Travis Hamonic said. "Were going to keep pushing and playing hard until the end." Spezza opened the scoring on a tip-in at 12:45 of the second. Nielsen then tied it 22 seconds into the third. Rookie defenceman Kevin Czuczman and Josh Bailey had assists, giving Bailey points in six straight games. Spezzas go-ahead goal at 12:45 of the third came when his shot edged under crossbar behind Nilsson. Ales Hemsky, who assisted on both of Spezzas goals, added his 13th at 14:26 of the third to make it 3-1. The Islanders qualified for the post-season last year for the first time since 2007 and lost to the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in a tough six-game opening-round series. But they never found firm footing this season after trading captain John Tavares longtime linemate Matt Moulson to Buffalo for Thomas Vanek on Oct. 27. They subsequently traded Vanek to Montreal at the March 5 deadline. The Islanders also had to contend with a litany of injuries to key players, particularly veteran defenceman Lubomir Visnovsky, who missed most of the season with a concussion and starting goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. Then, Tavares suffered a season-ending knee injury during the Winter Olympics in February. The Islanders have dressed at least nine rookies in their last nine games in which theyve gone 5-2-2. They are 7-4-2 in their last 13 contests. There are 11 rookies on the current roster: Defencemen Calvin de Haan, Scott Mayfield, Matt Donovan and Czuczman in addition to forwards Brock Nelson, Brett Gallant, Mike Halmo, Anders Lee, John Persson and Ryan Strome plus Nilsson. All but an injured de Haan played against the Senators. "Im proud of the young guys, they are playing hard," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "When we get our team back next year and play the way we can play, I think we can make a push and get back to the dance." Gallant, 25, made his NHL debut. He had 245 penalty minutes in 56 games for Bridgeport of the AHL. The feisty forward levelled Kassian with a single punch midway through the first period. "He caught me with one," said Kassian, sporting a postgame bruise under his right eye. "Sometimes that happens in a fight, you get punched right in the face." The Islanders conclude their season with road games at Montreal, New Jersey and Buffalo. Ottawa hosts New Jersey and Toronto before finishing at Pittsburgh. NOTES: Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck left during the first period with an upper-body injury and didnt return. ... Ottawa was without defencemen Colin Greening and Jared Cowen with lower-body injuries, plus forward Bobby Ryan (sports hernia). ... Defenceman Thomas Hickey is the only Islander to play all 79 games this season. ... The Islanders are 25-10-4 when they score at least three goals and 6-27-7 when they do not. Sealver Siliga Authentic Jersey .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres are shuffling their roster by promoting forward Phil Varone from their AHL affiliate in Rochester. Tommy Kelly Jersey . The Lions traded their fifth overall pick in the 2014 CFL Draft to the Ottawa Redblacks for QB Kevin Glenn.DALLAS - The Philadelphia Flyers expected an instant impact from the return of Claude Giroux, and thats exactly what they got from their top scorer. Giroux had a goal and three assists in his comeback from a four-game absence due to a concussion as the surging Flyers beat the Dallas Stars 4-1 Wednesday night. Giroux received medical clearance to play last weekend, and he was inserted into the lineup after he was able to participate in Wednesdays morning skate. "Hes clearly established himself as a top player in the league," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said. "He missed some time and wanted to get back in there. Hes capable of that. It shouldnt surprise anybody." Giroux was out since he was injured in a game against Tampa Bay on Dec. 10 when he was accidentally hit in the back of the head by teammate Wayne Simmonds knee. Giroux recorded his third four-point game of the season. The last Flyers player with at least three games of four or more points in a season was Mark Recchi, who also had three during the 2000-01 season. "Its exciting for him to play again," teammate Jaromir Jagr said. "I knew right away, first shift, he had a lot of energy." Simmonds and Jagr added power-play goals, and defenceman Andrej Meszaros connected at even strength for Philadelphia. Jagr has 657 career goals, breaking a tie with Brendan Shanahan and taking over sole possession of 11th on the all-time list. Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell both had two assists, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves as the Flyers improved to 10-2-1 in their last 13 overall and 13-3-2 on the road this season. Michael Ryder scored in the games first minute for the Stars, who were 4-1-0 in their previous five games. From there, the Flyers dominated. "I think we just started to relax, play our game, get on the forecheck and make sure we didnt make any mistakes out there," said Giroux, who has a six-game points streak with four goals and 10 assists in that span. "I guess that guys really wanted to win this game. "I had a lot of fun just playing and was kind of in Dallas face and they were pretty much doing the same thing to us. It was a fun game and important to get those two points." Stars rookie Richard Bachman stopped 27 shots in his sixth strraight start Ryder struck 56 seconds after the opening faceoff, firing a shot from high in the left circle that beat Bobrovsky to the glove side for Ryders team-high 12th goal of the season.New England Patriots Kenbrell Thompkins Jersey. But Giroux tied it at 8:30 of the first period when he swept a loose puck into an open net for his team-best 17th goal. Simmonds put the Flyers in front for good about three minutes later, cashing in on his teams first power play with a deflection for his 10th goal of the season. Jagr got his 11th goal 29 seconds into a power play, converting Girouxs return pass at 8:00 of the second period to extend the lead to 3-1. "Jagrs kind of made a career of (scoring with the man advantage) and playing with a skilled guy like Giroux, theyre going to make you pay," Stars captain Brenden Morrow said. "We got on the wrong end of it a few times and skilled guys are going to find a way." The game was heated at times, with three misconducts and several skirmishes after whistles. In addition, there was an incident after the first period when Laviolette shoved Dallas agitator Steve Ott in the back as the teams headed to their locker rooms. Laviolette entered the tunnel while the Stars were exiting, and Ott felt Laviolette should have waited until the home team had cleared. "Its disrespect of our building, just let our team off, its not a big deal," Ott said. "He obviously thought that he has a higher power than everybody else and a little bit more arrogance. Of all the coaches in the whole NHL, thats probably the first time Ive seen that. "I would never do that if I was in Philadelphia in their building and had to walk through their lineup. Just let us go and show a little respect, thats all." Laviolette would not address the incident, saying, "We should probably keep it about the game, it was such a big win for us." NOTES: The Flyers made the second stop of a five-game trip. ... F Adam Burish returned to the Dallas lineup after missing 15 games with a broken hand. ... Forward Tomas Vincour (knee), D Philip Larsen (lower body) and D Stephane Robidas (foot) were out for the Stars. ... The teams met for the only time this season. The Flyers are 5-1-0 in their last six against the Stars. ... Bachman was 4-1 in his first five NHL starts. cheap jerseys ' ' '
