UNIONDALE, New York (Ticker) -- After losing a teammate, the New York Islanders picked up an important win.
Mark Parrish scored the go-ahead goal with 2:40 left in the second period and Garth Snow made 28 saves as the Islanders posted a 3-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.
Before the game, New York lost center Jason Wiemer, who was claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Wild.
Wiemer had been told to stay away from the team earlier this week while management resolved his future, and Parrish admitted it was a distraction in the locker room.
"It distracted us, but it's over now and we wish him the best," Parrish said. "He was a best friend and teammate. But it's part of the business and you have to be prepared for it."
"It was tough," New York goaltender Garth Show added. "He was a great leader for us, always a gamer. He was the first one to go after a guy delivered a cheap shot to one of our players. He was the consummate teammate."
Parrish helped the Islanders avoid a third straight loss. Less than 15 minutes after Andreas Dackell lifted Montreal into a 1-1 tie, Parrish did a spin move around defenseman Sheldon Souray before sliding the puck under goalie Jose Theodore.
In addition to ending their longest losing streak of the season, the Islanders head into a four-game road trip on a positive note.
"For us, coming off two losses, it was very important not to lose three in a row," New York coach Steve Stirling said. "It was important to build momentum for the road trip and get the two points. That was the focus for us."
After making 16 saves in the second period, Snow stopped all five shots in the third to help the Islanders improve to 7-0-1 when leading after 40 minutes.
The Canadiens continued to struggle offensively in the opener of a five-game trip. Montreal's 32 goals are next-to-last in the Eastern Conference and this marked the seventh time in 10 games the Canadiens were held to one goal or shut out.
"It's always the same story," Montreal coach Claude Julien said. "It almost seems like we have to play perfect hockey to win with one goal."
"You can't be satisfied with getting chances," Canadiens captain Saku Koivu added. "You've got to put the puck in the net. You have to score three or four goals to win a hockey game."
New York improved to 7-2-0 at home and avenged an October 23 loss at Montreal, sealing the win on Jason Blake's empty-net goal with 41 seconds to play. Theodore allowed Oleg Kvasha's 45-foot slap shot to trickle through his pads in the first period and lost his third straight decision following his league-leading fourth shutout.
