The injury-depleted Islanders skipped to the "Rocky II" script, the one in which the titular boxer won.
Patrick Roy, asked about top-liner Mathew Barzal's indefinite absence, had cited the original "Rocky" prior to the Islanders 2-1 victory over Vegas on Tuesday night at UBS Arena. The coach noted how people love an athlete -- or team -- that keeps getting back up from tough situations to beat the odds. Of course, Roy added, Apollo Creed actually won the first fight.
Brock Nelson tipped Alexander Romanov's shot for the winner at 10:43 of the third period, a little more than three minutes after Vegas tied the game. Ilya Sorokin, a day after being named the NHL's first star of the week, stopped 34 shots behind some tenacious defense.
The Islanders (25-21-7) placed Barzal on injured reserve a day after announcing he was out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. He and Scott Mayfield, who is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury and who joined Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock as sidelined defensemen, were hurt in Saturday's 3-2 overtime road win against the Lightning.
Barzal, who missed 21 games from Nov. 1-Dec. 12 with an upper-body injury, could not put weight on his left leg after blocking a shot late in the third period.
Roy was asked directly to clarify whether he expected Barzal back before the regular season ends on April 17.
"That I could not tell," Roy said.
Vegas spoiled Sorokin's shutout bid as Brandon Saad got the rebound of defenseman Nicolas Hague's shot to tie it at 1-1 at 7:40 of the third period.
The Islanders also beat Vegas (31-17-6), at the time atop the NHL standings, 4-0 on the road on Jan. 9. The Islanders were still just 16-18-7 at the time but president/general manager Lou Lamoriello, before the game, expressed full confidence his team could make a playoff push. That game was a signature moment in the Islanders' turnaround while Vegas entered Tuesday on a 3-7-3 skid starting with that loss.
The Islanders managed just four shots in the first period -- Vegas had five -- but took a 1-0 lead as defenseman Adam Pelech sprung Bo Horvat, who got to the crease and slid a backhander between the pads of Ilya Samsonov (12 saves).
The second period yielded just four more shots for the Islanders even with Anthony Duclair hitting the crossbar from the right circle on the power play at 10:43 and Samsonov denying Pierre Engvall's backhander at the crease at 13:44.
Notes & quotes: Hudson Fasching (upper body/injured reserve), who missed his 11th game, rejoined the Islanders for the morning skate after a conditioning stint with their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport . . . Roy had this reaction to Sorokin's first-star honor after he went 3-0-0 with a 1.33 goals-against average and a .953 save percentage. "I said to Sorokin the other day, 'Do you know when I love my backup the most? When they're sitting on the bench.'" . . . Matt Martin remained a healthy scratch.