Anders Lee scored third-period goals a little more than five minutes apart, and the New York Islanders overcame the absence of captain John Tavares to stay in the playoff hunt with a 4-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday.
Cal Clutterbuck and Joshua Ho-Sang also scored and Jaroslav Halak stopped 35 shots to improve to 3-1 since being recalled from the minors.
With four games left, New York earned its 86th point to inch within five of Ottawa and Toronto, and remain six behind Boston in the race for the Eastern Conference's final three playoff berths.
It was the Islanders' first game since Tavares was sidelined by a left hamstring injury in a 2-1 win over New Jersey on Friday.
Copyright The Associated Press
