Steve Jannace

hat's why it seemed close to a miracle that the Isles were able to salvage a point in the standings with their 3-2 overtime loss to Dallas in front of a season-low crowd of 8,161 last night at Nassau Coliseum. Miro Satan's power-play goal with 2:38 left in regulation sent the game to overtime, where the Stars' Mike Modano won it with his second score of the game just 35 seconds into OT.
"It was one of those games where maybe we shouldn't have gotten a point, but we found a way," Islanders coach Ted Nolan said. "Everything equals out in the end."
The power play was a crucial factor in the Islanders' early-season surge, but it was in a barren 1-for-29 stretch extending over eight games, including their first three opportunities against the Stars.


In fact, the Islanders had scored more shorthanded goals during that same stretch, including one by Richard Park at 9:07 of the second period after he beat Dallas goaltender Marty Turco in a race to a loose puck above the right circle and skated around him to reach the empty net for a 1-0 lead.
But Modano evened the score at 11:37 of the second with an open shot from the slot that went through the legs of Isles defender Radek Martinek and goaltender Rick DiPietro, who made 28 saves. Dallas took control at 6:07 of the third period after a pass from Stars defenseman Sergei Zubov ticked off an Islanders stick and jumped to Jeff Halpern at the bottom of the left circle. DiPietro had come out, expecting a shot from the middle, leaving space for Halpern to shoot behind him for a 2-1 lead.
Although the Isles managed to put 25 shots on Turco, they had a tough time picking their way through the Stars' defense in the neutral zone to find quality scoring chances. "They've always played a tight-checking game," said Isles center Mike Comrie, who spent most of his career in the Western Conference. "They thrive on turnovers and create a lot of speed through the neutral zone. You just try to get pucks by their defensemen and generate chances from behind the net."
Down a goal in the third, the Islanders got their third power play at 12:46 but couldn't get a single shot through to Turco. At one point, the Stars' goaltender got caught out of the crease, but Satan could not get his stick on the puck in the crowd in front.