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New York • John Tavares scored one of the New York Islanders' three-second period goals and then netted the winner in a shootout as the Islanders broke a five-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday night.
Tavares followed Frans Nielsen's goal in the opening round of the tiebreaker with one of his own, and Evgeni Nabokov stopped Marian Gaborik and Rick Nash to give the Islanders the elusive win. They had dropped eight straight at Madison Square Garden, including a loss there last week.
The Rangers (7-5-1) squandered a 2-0 lead and had their three-game winning streak snapped.
Ottawa's Karlsson out for season
Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson had season-ending surgery to repair his left Achilles after the tendon was cut by a skate blade during a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Senators general manager Bryan Murray said Thursday the surgery went well. He also said 70 percent of the tendon was cut.
"It was a clean cut and recovery is expected to be 100 percent," Murray said. "But it does mean his year finishes at this time."
The Norris Trophy winner last season as the NHL's top defenseman, the 22-year-old Karlsson was cut by the blade of Pittsburgh forward Matt Cooke's skate as the two tangled along the boards late in the second period Wednesday night in Pittsburgh in the Senators' 4-2 loss.
No decision on NHL players in Olympics
A decision on whether NHL players will head to the 2014 Sochi Olympics isn't likely this week.
Discussions were set for Thursday and Friday between the NHL, the NHL players' association, and officials from the International Ice Hockey Federation and the International Olympic Committee to see if it makes sense for North American professional hockey players to go to the Olympics for a fifth straight time.
"I don't expect any resolution or decisions this week," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Associated Press in an email on Thursday.
The Sochi Games are one year away. While a final decision isn't required this week, one will have to be reached in the near future. It is believed hockey federations will need to know by May what players will be available for their teams.
The current discussions are being held between NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr, IIHL President Rene Fasel and officials from the IOC.