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UNIONDALE, N. Antonio Smith Womens Jersey .Y. -- Cory Schneider has to make the most of his opportunities to guard the New Jersey Devils net to earn more playing time. It doesnt come easily in a goalie split with Martin Brodeur, but he made a good case for himself in a 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday night. Schneider made 30 saves and held off the Islanders late charge to win for the first time since a shutout of Buffalo on Nov. 30. "I want to win, but you cant do it without the guys in front of you," Schneider said. "I thought we played really well tonight, and we eliminated a lot of their odd-man rush opportunities." The 27-year-old goalie held the Islanders scoreless until midway through the third period, before Frans Nielsen tied it 1-1. It didnt stay even for long. With 6:57 to play, Travis Zajac took a shot off his upper body from Marek Zidlicky. The puck deflected past goalie Evgeni Nabokov for the winning goal. In addition to limiting the Islanders odd-man rushes, the Devils capitalized on their own chances. New Jersey took a 1-0 lead with 8:23 remaining in the first period when Adam Henrique beat Nabokov as the trailer on an odd-man rush. "We needed this as a group," Schneider said of the win. "Weve been stringing some points together, which is nice. But we couldnt settle for one. I think we needed the two." New Jersey lost to Columbus at home in a shootout on Friday night. The Islanders absorbed their latest tough home loss. New York hasnt won at Nassau Coliseum in regulation since Nov. 12 -- going 1-5-4 during that span. This loss came without captain John Tavares, who missed the game because of an undisclosed lower-body injury and had his consecutive games streak snapped at 246. He is day to day. Despite Tavaress absence, the Islanders controlled the puck and put heavy pressure on the Devils, particularly in the third period. But Schneider turned aside all but one of their 14 shots. They received a late power play, but couldnt convert -- leaving them 0 for 3 with the advantage during the game. "It was a typical Islanders-Devils game," New York coach Jack Capuano said. "They got the shot and the bounce at the end." The bounce resulted in one of two goals allowed by Nabokov, who played another solid game. Fresh off a shutout victory over Detroit on Monday, the veteran goalie made 23 saves. "Its a process," Capuano said. "(Weve) got to do a better job teaching these kids, and theyre going to go through some growing pains." NOTES: Devils captain Bryce Salvador returned for the first time since he broke a foot on Oct. 22. The 37 year old defenceman logged a team-high 16:05 of ice time in the first two periods. ... New Jersey LW Mattias Tedenby was a healthy scratch. He is minus-5 in three games since he came back from a two-game conditioning stint in the AHL. ... Tavares consecutive games streak is the fifth longest in Islanders history. ... Islanders 20-year-old centre Ryan Strome was held pointless. He has no goals and just one assist six games into his NHL career. Usama Young Jersey . - The Tampa Bay Times is reporting Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Williams was stabbed in the thigh at his home and an arrest warrant has been issued for his brother. Kevin Burnett Womens Jersey . LOUIS -- T.MINSK, Belarus -- From a disallowed goal to a penalty kill in the final minutes, Team Canada didnt enjoy a lot of easy moments in beating Norway 3-2. But thats exactly how coach Dave Tippett wanted it, as his team got the regulation victory it needed Tuesday to finish first in Group A at the world hockey championship. "We played well, and I like that we got pushed right to the end," Tippett said. "If it wouldve been a 5-1 or 6-1 game, maybe you get into bad habits, you just kind of float through it. This pushed us as a team, and the harder you get pushed as a team the better you get in a short amount of time. I like the fact that we won the game, obviously, but I like the fact that it was a close game." It was close because Norway took the lead, and then Canada had a would-be goal by Kevin Bieksa waved off for goaltender interference because Jonathan Huberdeau had his stick in the crease. And it remained close even after Joel Ward scored the second of his two goals, the eventual game winner, midway through the third because Norway didnt go away. Canada outshot Norway 42-16 and only beat goaltender Steffen Soberg three times, on Wards two on the power play and Mark Scheifeles at even strength. Meanwhile, James Reimer gave up goals to Anders Bastiansen and Mads Hansen that came about from defensive miscues but still improved to 3-0-1 in the tournament. "This is one of those games where you really just have to grind it out and battle because they protect so well, they collapse so well, and sometimes you just pass the puck around the outside but you cant really get to the good scoring areas," Reimer said. "I think were just happy to grind this one out." Canada, which finished the preliminary round with 18 points and a 6-0-1 record, will face Finland in Group B in the quarter-final round Thursday. Along the way, the Canadians outscored opponents 28-13, and their only blemish was a shootout loss to France. Tippett seemed pleased with his teams progression to this point. "Most of our players didnt play for three weeks and as you get back into game shape, your game starts to elevate," he said. "Every game our players continue to pick up a step." Finishing first in the group assured Canada of avoiding powerhouse Russia until a potential gold-medal game Sunday. The United States, led by Tyler Johnson and Seth Jones, could wind up on Canadas side of the bracket, pending the result of Russia-Belarus on Tuesday night. The chance to pass Sweden for first place almost slipped away Tuesday agaiinst Norway at Chizhovka-Arena. Usama Young Raiders Jersey. Canada fell behind on a power-play goal by Bastiansen and then had to overcome some frustration later in the first. It looked like Bieksa scored a power-play goal at the 15:01 mark, but it was waved off apparently because Huberdeau had his stick in the crease. Tippett said the referee wouldnt come over to explain the decision, which seemed to stem from the IIHF rule that an attacking player cannot have even his stick blade in the crease when the puck goes into the net. "I didnt think my skate was in the crease. I guess it was the stick," Huberdeau said. "I dont know the call, but it was the call and you cant do anything. Its not a big deal." It wouldve been a much bigger deal had it cost Canada the chance to win in regulation. But with seven power plays, including five after Bieksas goal was disallowed, there were plenty of opportunities to keep it from being the reason for a loss. "We were not going to let one call ruin the whole day for us," said Ward, who now has six goals and is tied with teammate Cody Hodgson and Frances Antoine Roussel for second in the tournament behind Russias Viktor Tikhonov. Canada managed to grind away at Norway enough, and Tippett had special praise for the fourth line of Ward, Scheifele and Sean Monahan. "We had lots of opportunities, but (the Norwegians) kept the game very tight," Tippett said. "They did a good job penalty-killing against us, and I was proud of our guys to just keep pushing, not get frustrated and hopefully wed find the chances we needed to win." Once they did, the Canadians could start to look ahead to elimination play. "Get some playoffs going here," Reimer said. "To get going to the quarter-finals here, I think were jelling well as a team. We have some good chemistry. Hopefully things bode well in the playoffs." NOTES -- Alex Burrows missed his second straight game with a charley horse suffered in a knee-on-knee hit Friday against Italy. Tippett said he skated each of the past two days, would practise with the team the next time it was on the ice and would be ready to play in Thursdays quarter-final game. ... Reimer approached Soberg, who made 39 saves on 42 shots, after the game to ask why he wasnt playing in the NHL. Soberg was a 2011 fourth-round pick of the Washington Capitals and refused to come to North America to play for the WHLs Swift Current Broncos, opting instead to continue playing in Norway. The Capitals lost Sobergs rights last summer, making him an NHL free agent. ' ' '