CALGARY - It wasnt exciting, but it was effective. Kurt Benkert Jersey .John Tavares scored early and again late as the New York Islanders made it three consecutive wins Friday night with a 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames.After Tavares opened the scoring eight minutes into the game, the score remained 1-0 until 12:16 of the third period when Tavares got the puck in the slot, fended off Deryk Engelland and fired his team-leading 17th goal through the pads of Jonas Hiller.Obviously not a whole lot of offence tonight, just trying to play a good solid road game, said Tavares.The Flames got a goal from Johnny Gaudreau — his 13th of the season — with 3:25 left in the third period to get back within one but they could not tie it against Jaroslav Halak, who had 22 stops to win his seventh straight game.Guys played great. Everybody was back-checking, tracking back hard, we didnt give up too much, said Halak, who improved to 21-6-0. It could have been perfect or better if they didnt score but a win is a win.New York (26-11-1) improves to 7-1-1 in its last nine games and keeps pace with the Pittsburgh Penguins atop the Metropolitan Division. The Islanders third stop on a season-long seven-game road trip is Sunday in Edmonton.Calgary (21-16-3) had its four-game winning streak snapped. The Flames are not back in action until Wednesday when they host Detroit. They are 3-1-0 with two games left on a six-game homestand.They were just getting pucks first and out-battling us, said Flames centre Josh Jooris. That first period wasnt the greatest and we got behind the 8-ball early.Most upsetting for the Flames was that their overall effort wasnt up to the standard theyve shown all season.Its disappointing. Thats our game, what we pride ourselves on. But we just got outworked tonight, Jooris said.The first game of 2015 for both teams looked more like the first game of the pre-season for much of the night. The game was devoid of any flow with both teams guilty of errant passes, numerous stoppages for icings and offsides and general sloppy play, especially in the first two periods.A pretty boring hockey game to be honest with you. But that said, thats how we want to play on the road, said Islanders right-winger Kyle Okposo. We were half-an-inch off in the offensive zone and didnt get quite as many chances as wed have liked but I thought we did a pretty good job of limiting theirs.Calgary coach Bob Hartley saw the game similarly.I felt that our passing was not what it usually is — lots of bouncing pucks and pucks off the skates. The first period, we were not there at all. We basically survived that first period. Then in the second, we got better. The third period, we got better. But our execution was not good enough.Looking to tie the game, the Flames got back-to-back power plays early in the third period but were unable to take advantage against a New York penalty-killing unit ranked 29th in the NHL.Calgary failed to generate a shot on the first chance and the best scoring chance of the second power play — a Curtis Glencross set up of Sean Monahan — was stopped on a superb pad save by Halak.We need a lot more. Were not happy about that, said Monahan. Power plays are a big part of the game and thats how youve got to win hockey games. When you have that man advantage, you have to find a way to bury one.New York took a 1-0 lead eight minutes into the game, capitalizing on a two-minute two-man advantage.With Lance Bouma already in the penalty box for tripping, Matt Stajan was sent off on the ensuing face-off for covering his hand on the puck.Calgary killed off the first 45 seconds of the 5-on-3 without any troubles but once the Islanders got set up, they moved the puck around nicely and eventually, Ryan Strome fed a perfect pass through the top of the crease to Tavares, who one-timed a shot in the open side before Hiller could slide across.Some pretty good skill up there and Strome made a heck of a pass, said Okposo, who also had an assist.Tavares said it was a matter of being patient when you have that much time to work with.Theres no reason to rush any shots. I think you want to create some movement, see what theyre giving you and try to make them commit and create some lanes, Tavares said. When you get a good look, you have to take it. Thats what we tried to do.Calgary pulled their goalie for the extra attacker in the final minute but could not pull out another late comeback. The Flames lead the NHL with eight wins when trailing entering the third period.I really believe that the Islanders showed us why theyre having such a great season, said Hartley.Hiller had 22 stops for the Flames. His record falls to 13-11-2.Notes: In two career games at the Saddledome, Tavares has four goals. He also scored twice in his only previous appearance four years ago... The Flames shuffled their lines a little bit moving RW Joe Colborne onto a line with Monahan and Glencross and dropping David Jones to the fourth line alongside Matt Stajan and Brandon Bollig... LW Mason Raymond was a healthy scratch for Calgary for the second game in a row... The Islanders record when scoring first improves to 14-8-1. However, they still have a better record when surrendering the first goal (12-3-0). Jake Matthews Jersey . This week, topics cover the Blue Jays rotation, the futures John Gibbons and Alex Anthopoulos, protecting pitchers and a bonus question on his predictions for the MLB playoffs. Taveze Calhoun Jersey . Hamilton signed offensive linemen Mike Filer, Joel Reinders, Landon Rice and Carson Rockhill.Weve pitched Fantasy Football Clubs Paul Merson against Saints legend Matt Le Tissier for Sky Sports Fantasy Six-a-Side, with this weeks fixture being Leicester v Southampton. The usual £10,000 is up for grabs in the free-to-play game as the Foxes look to take a step closer to the Premier League title, live on Sky Sports 1HD at 12.30pm.To help with your selections weve called upon two men who know their stuff, with Merson bringing his Fantasy Football Club insight, while Le Tiss offers his unbiased views on the Saints chances. Fantasy Six-a-Side Pick your team here for the chance to win the ï¿¡10,000 jackpot. With no player values, formations or position requirements in Sky Sports Fantasy Six-a-Side, the pundits can pick whoever they want except for only one of the four Elite Players, who are Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy, Graziano Pelle and Saido Mane this week.Heres who they have gone for... Mersons VIRiyad Mahrez - Jamie Vardys goals have dried up and hes been the one that has stepped up. If theres a man to make the difference in a tight game then hes the number one contender.Shane Long - Hes the man that can cause problems with his movement and Robert Huth and Wes Morgan wont enjoy playing against him. Leicester will have to go out and chase the win that will make for space for Long to get in behind.NGolo Kante - Hes having a magnificent season and making a mockery of the fact very few people had even heard of him at the start of the season, even scoring for France - the cheek of him! The way he gets around the park is like having an extra man in midfield. NGolo Kante scored on his France debut against Russia Steven Davis - Im a big fan of his as hes very underrated and always does a good job. Hell complete plenty of passes and create chances.Robert Huth - Leicester have three clean sheets on the bounce but Ive got him in there more for his goals than his clean sheets. Steven Means Jersey.  A lot of defenders go up for set-pieces because their managers tell them to but this guy always looks a threat. Marc Albrighton - He takes corners and free-kicks so hes going to create plenty of chances and has been another one of the unsung heroes of the season. Its ridiculous to think Aston Villa let him go! Marc Albrighton has flourished at Leicester after struggling at Aston Villa Le Tiss VIGraziano Pelle - Hes rediscover his scoring touch with three goals in his last two games and Im backing him to net again on Sunday.Shinji Okazaki - Im loading my team with attacking players because I think its going to be a high-scoring game. Okazaki obviously has not been as prolific as others but hes still got a few goals this season and creates chances.Virgil van Dijk - Im not expecting us to keep a clean sheet but hes a real threat to score from a set-pieces. With three goals this season, Scott Dann is the only defender to have scored more. Virgil van Dijk has impressed in his first season at Southampton NGolo Kante - Hes one of the stars of the season and hes got to be a solid pick, making plenty of passes, tackles and interceptions.Shane Long - His pace is going to be key to hitting Leicester on the counter-attack, where we know we can really hurt them. He was also on the scoresheet for Ireland so confidence should be high.Danny Drinkwater - Talking of confidence, a man-of-the-match award on his England debut will have done Drinkwaters no harm at all. Hell probably complete more passes than any other player and should create chances as well.Who makes your VI? Pick your Sky Sports Fantasy Six-a-Side team here. Also See: Premier League video Fixtures Table Live on Sky Get Sky Sports Wholeslae Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Cheap College Jerseys Cheap Football JerseysCheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap Baseball Jerseys ' ' '