The Islander snapped the Red Wings' six-game winning streak, winning 5-3 for their second straight victory.
The New York Islanders desperately needed to find a way to build on their 3-2 overtime win against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday when they headed into the Motor City.
That they did, as they snapped the Red Wing's six-game winning streak with a 5-3 victory despite blowing two third-period leads.
Here's how it happened.
Brock Nelson gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 12:11 of the first period after he beat Red Wings goalie Alex Lyon over the glove from the low slot after stripping the puck for his team-leading 26th goal of the season:
Casey Cizikas doubled the Islanders' lead to 2-0 after he deflected a point shot low blocker side on Lyon at 16:18 of the first for his seventh goal of the season:
The Islanders didn't allow their first 5-on-5 shot on goal util the block read 4:10 to play in the first. The penalty kill was strong, going 2-for-2 out of the gate, while the power lay struggled, not doing much on their two opportunities.
Olli Maatta got the Red Wings on the board at 5:04 of the second after he rifled one past a deep Ilya Sorokin after a bad bounce off the end boards allowed Detroit to garner possession.
The Islanders shook off a tough start to the second and entered the third period up 2-1.
The Red Wings needed just 10 seconds into the third period to tie the game at 2-2 after Patrick Kane beat Sorokin blocker side on a 2-on-1 after Jean-Gabriel Pageau lost his man.
On the power play, Nelson scored his second of the game and 27th goal of the season to give New York a 3-2 lead at 5:04 of the third after he sniped Lyon glove side from inside the right circle.
Maatta's second goal of the game at 10:49 of the third tied the game at 3-3 after Shayne Ghostisbehere found him all alone creeping into the left circle:
Mathew Barzal banked one off Lyon and in at 13:58 of the third to give the Islanders a 4-3 lead for his 18th of the season, coming up clutch again for New York:
Pierre Engvall scored the Islanders first empty-net goal of the season with 35.7 seconds to play in the third for the 5-3 lead.
Up Next: The Islanders host the Boston Bruins on Saturday night at 7:30 PM.