CALGARY, Alberta _ As the four-game, 10-day, three-time-zone, two-nation road trip wore on, the Islanders began to talk less about their fading playoff hopes and more about simply winning a game. Any game, any way. Just one.
On Sunday night, it finally happened.
The Islanders defeated the Flames, 5-2, at the Scotiabank Saddledome, to end an eight-game losing streak and make the long flight home far more palatable.
They had not won since Feb. 16, going 0-4-4 while other wild-card contenders such as the Blue Jackets and Panthers continued to win.
It was the second NHL victory and first since the 2015-16 season for Islanders goaltender Christopher Gibson, who looked sharp yet again under heavy attack most of the night. He finished with 50 saves.
In two his previous starts this season _ both on the long trip _ he had lost in overtime to the Penguins and in a shootout to the Oilers. Gibson missed almost all of last season after suffering a knee injury playing for Bridgeport of the AHL.
The victory came with a bonus for the Islanders: It was a setback for the Flames in a tight race for a wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference.
If the Flames fall short, it will enhance the value of the first-round draft pick the Islanders obtained from Calgary in the Travis Hamonic trade.
The Islanders led 3-1 after an eventful first period. They scored three times in their first seven shots against Flames goalie Mike Smith, making his first start since suffering a lower body injury against the Islanders exactly a month earlier.
It began with goals 18 seconds apart by defensemen Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk at 2:14 and 2:32.
The Flames' Johnny Gaudreau trimmed the Islanders' lead to 2-1 at 7:23 of the first when he skated in to Gibson's right and from a sharp angle found a spot high on the short side over the young goalie.
The Islanders bounced back at 10:25. Boychuk found Jordan Eberle skating toward the net, where Eberle deflected the puck and Smith saved it. But Smith allowed a rebound, and Eberle sent it back and past him to make it 3-1.
It was Eberle's 24th goal of the season, third on the team behind Anders Lee (33), who scored twice Sunday, and John Tavares (31).
Smith's uneven return to action continued 50 seconds into the second period when he allowed a big rebound off a Boychuk slap shot and Lee scored easily to make it 4-1. At that point Smith had stopped eight of 12 shots.
When Smith made a brilliant pad save on Mathew Barzal shortly thereafter, there were some derisive cheers from the crowd.
Later in the second, Casey Cizikas missed on a short-handed breakaway. But the Flames had the better of the play for most of the middle period, peppering Gibson with 19 shots on goal and many others that were narrowly off target.
The Flames continued to keep the pressure on early in the third against the 25-year-old goalie, who has been impressive enough to perhaps figure in the Islanders' plans at the position. He will be a free agent after this season.
At 7:24 of the third the Flames broke through when Gibson lost track of the puck in the crease behind him, and as it trickled toward the goal line Mark Giordano poked it in to make it 4-2, although it looked like Gibson himself might have knocked it in.
Gibson continued to frustrate the Flames in the final minutes, looking poised far beyond his age and level of experience.
Lee sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 11 seconds left.
