Thomas Vanek to New York for Matt Moulson and a first-round draft pick in one of the next two drafts. The Islanders have until June 1 to determine whether to give up their selection

BUFFALO, N. Darwin Thompson Jersey .Y. - New York Islanders coach Jack Capuano had no choice but to have faith in younger players after star forward John Tavares was lost to a season-ending knee injury. Brock Nelson and fellow rookies delivered down the stretch and provided a glimpse at a brighter future for the Islanders, who head into the off-season after missing the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years. Nelson scored with 3:44 remaining to force overtime, and then netted the lone shootout goal in a 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday night in a season-ending matchup of non-playoff teams. The Islanders (34-37-11) won by rallying from a 2-0 deficit and closed the season by winning three straight and eight of 12 (8-2-2). "These kids have played extremely hard, and Im proud of what theyve done not only in the last month and a half, but these last three games," Capuano said. "They really stuck together." The future looks even better after Capuano reiterated that Tavares is on track in his recovery from a left knee injury and should be ready to begin training in the summer. There is much more work to do in Buffalo. Torrey Mitchell, Jamie McBain and Matt Ellis scored for the Sabres (21-51-10), who had already clinched the NHLs worst record. The Sabres went 0-6-1 in their final seven games. With 150 goals scored, Buffalo set the NHL-low in the leagues post-expansion era that began in 1967. The previous low was 151 by Tampa Bay in 1997-98. "The standard has to be set a little bit higher than it was," Sabres coach Ted Nolan said. "Well address that starting with the meetings (Monday)." Nelson, an Islanders first-round pick in the 2010 draft, was eager to show what potential the teams youngsters possess. "We knew we had a young group and a lot of rookies," said Nelson, who topped the Islanders rookie class with 14 goals and 26 points. "We wanted to go out there and give it everything we had every night. I think we were able to do that." Nelson scored the lone shootout goal on the Islanders second shot. He snapped a shot that rookie Connor Knapp got a piece of with his stick. But there was enough backspin for the puck to dribble in. Anders Nilsson stopped 36 shots through overtime and all three he faced in the shootout. Nilsson clinched the victory by using his glove to sweep away a puck that got away from Ville Leino as he drove to the net. Anders Lee, a recent call up, scored twice in a game the Islanders never led until the final score. The Sabres bookended their season with long droughts. Buffalo got off to a 2-13-1 start, and ended with a 2-16-2 skid. "This is our job and we failed. So its definitely salt in the wound," forward Marcus Foligno said. "I guess when it rains it pours, and you really just got to keep putting your head down and moving forward." Though both teams rosters were depleted by injuries, the Islanders fill-ins proved to be better. Down 2-0, Lee scored both his goals in a span of 3:40, bridging the second intermission, to tie it 17 seconds into the third period. Mitchell put the Sabres ahead by deflecting in Rasmus Ristolainens shot 10:09 into the third, before Nelson scored the equalizer. Using Ristolainen as a screen, Nelson snapped in 40-foot shot over Knapps left shoulder. The only thing on the line for the Islanders was where they would finish in the overall standings. The win pushed them into 26th place, two points ahead of Calgary. There is a Sabres tie-in for the Islanders connected to a trade in which Buffalo sent Thomas Vanek to New York for Matt Moulson and a first-round draft pick in one of the next two drafts. The Islanders have until June 1 to determine whether to give up their selection this year or hold off. NOTES: The Sabres 21 wins are the fewest in an 80-plus-game season, and rank second fewest behind Buffalos 16-43-19 finish in 1971-72. Buffalo matched the 21 wins it had in the lockout-shortened season last year. Their 51 regulation losses are the most ever. ... The Islanders went 21-18-2 on the road for their best finish since going 21-15-3-2 in 2001-02. ... The Sabres were forced to call up G Andrey Makarov, D Mark Pysyk and LW Nicolas Deslauriers from AHL Rochester after the team lost five players to injuries at Boston on Saturday. Khalen Saunders Youth Jersey . - Rookie Tesho Akindele scored three goals and Fabian Castillo added two in FC Dallas 5-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night. Travis Kelce Jersey .com) - Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, Detroit Red Wings forward Tomas Tatar and New York Islanders right wing Kyle Okposo were named the NHLs players of the week on Monday. http://www.prochiefsauthentic.com/Youth-Travis-Kelce-Elite-Jersey/ .Y. - Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs didnt flinch in the face of adversity.TORONTO -- The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed forwards Mike Santorelli and Petri Kontiola to one-year contracts. Santorellis deal is worth US$1.5 million, according to a league source. The 28-year-old spent last season with the Vancouver Canucks. The Leafs also announced the re-signing of forward Troy Bodie to a one-year deal on Thursday. Kontiola will reportedly make $1.1 million. His agent, Mark Gandler, confirmed the one-year contract and said the Finnish centre had to pay 20 million Russian rubles -- roughly C$620,297 -- to get out of the final season of his KHL deal. Coupled with Tuesdays signing of Finn Leo Komarov, the Leafs retooled at forward after letting Mason&nnbsp;Raymond, Dave Bolland and Jay McClement leave in free agency. Patrick Mahomes Chiefs Jersey. Komarov returned to Toronto after a year in the KHL. Gandler said Kontiola was pencilled in as the Leafs No. 3 centre. Santorelli could also fill that role or replace McClement on the fourth line. Santorelli, 28, had an impressive 10 goals and 18 assists in 49 games for Vancouver before a shoulder injury derailed his season. Kontiola, 29, spent the last five seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League. Before that he played 12 games for the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2007-08 season, recording five assists. He helped Finland win a bronze medal at the Sochi Olympics with five points in six games. ' ' '