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UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The New York Islanders were seeking a positive finish to a frustrating season on home ice. Ottawas Jason Spezza and Craig Anderson did their best to block that effort. Spezza scored twice and Anderson made 45 saves as the Senators topped the Islanders 4-1 on Tuesday night. The Senators (34-31-14) will still miss the post-season for the first time since 2011 and just the third time since 1996. They were making their first appearance this season at Nassau Coliseum, and the Islanders won the previous two meetings in Ottawa. "It feels good to put together a team effort and come away with the win," Anderson said. "We played well." Matt Kassian scored an empty-net goal at 19:48, his first this season. Spezza, the Senators captain, had the chance for a hat trick, but instead passed to Kassian. Frans Nielsen scored the lone goal for the Islanders with his career-best 25th in the teams home finale. Anders Nilsson made 28 saves for the Islanders (31-37-11), who wont reach the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years. They finished 13-19-9 at home. "The effort has been there and will continue to be there," Islanders defenceman Travis Hamonic said. "Were going to keep pushing and playing hard until the end." Spezza opened the scoring on a tip-in at 12:45 of the second. Nielsen then tied it 22 seconds into the third. Rookie defenceman Kevin Czuczman and Josh Bailey had assists, giving Bailey points in six straight games. Spezzas go-ahead goal at 12:45 of the third came when his shot edged under crossbar behind Nilsson. Ales Hemsky, who assisted on both of Spezzas goals, added his 13th at 14:26 of the third to make it 3-1. The Islanders qualified for the post-season last year for the first time since 2007 and lost to the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in a tough six-game opening-round series. But they never found firm footing this season after trading captain John Tavares longtime linemate Matt Moulson to Buffalo for Thomas Vanek on Oct. 27. They subsequently traded Vanek to Montreal at the March 5 deadline. The Islanders also had to contend with a litany of injuries to key players, particularly veteran defenceman Lubomir Visnovsky, who missed most of the season with a concussion and starting goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. Then, Tavares suffered a season-ending knee injury during the Winter Olympics in February. The Islanders have dressed at least nine rookies in their last nine games in which theyve gone 5-2-2. They are 7-4-2 in their last 13 contests. There are 11 rookies on the current roster: Defencemen Calvin de Haan, Scott Mayfield, Matt Donovan and Czuczman in addition to forwards Brock Nelson, Brett Gallant, Mike Halmo, Anders Lee, John Persson and Ryan Strome plus Nilsson. All but an injured de Haan played against the Senators. "Im proud of the young guys, they are playing hard," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "When we get our team back next year and play the way we can play, I think we can make a push and get back to the dance." Gallant, 25, made his NHL debut. He had 245 penalty minutes in 56 games for Bridgeport of the AHL. The feisty forward levelled Kassian with a single punch midway through the first period. "He caught me with one," said Kassian, sporting a postgame bruise under his right eye. "Sometimes that happens in a fight, you get punched right in the face." The Islanders conclude their season with road games at Montreal, New Jersey and Buffalo. Ottawa hosts New Jersey and Toronto before finishing at Pittsburgh. NOTES: Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck left during the first period with an upper-body injury and didnt return. ... Ottawa was without defencemen Colin Greening and Jared Cowen with lower-body injuries, plus forward Bobby Ryan (sports hernia). ... Defenceman Thomas Hickey is the only Islander to play all 79 games this season. ... The Islanders are 25-10-4 when they score at least three goals and 6-27-7 when they do not. Cheap Lightning Jerseys Authentic . Next up is another showdown with Michigan. Payne scored 18 points, Branden Dawson had 14 and No. 22 Michigan State beat No. 12 Wisconsin 83-75 on Saturday to reach the Big Ten tournament championship. Cheap Adidas Lightning Jerseys . For Bergevin, the best pick is the 30th — which traditionally goes to the Stanley Cup winner. "Thats our goal. http://www.cheaplightningjerseys.com/ . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. Cheap Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys . Lynn was tied for 16th entering the fourth round, six shots behind leader Paul Waring. He started with two birdies and added three more on his last five holes at the Oceanico Victoria course for an 18-under total of 266. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . The Raptors (15-15) posted six road victories last month and have won seven of their last nine games overall. Toronto visits the Washington Wizards on Friday night.NHL broadcaster Pierre McGuire admitted he was taken by surprise when at the end of his post game interview with P.K. Subban following the Canadiens Game 7 win over the Bruins in the second round, after the Montreal defenceman planted a huge kiss on McGuires forehead as he exclaimed, "Yeah baby!" before heading off to celebrate with his teammates in their dressing room. "I didnt see that coming at all," McGuire told TSN.ca recently. But what McGuire has always seen coming was the performance and level of play Subban showed in the Canadiens run through to Game 6 of the 2014 Eastern Conference Final. Subban finished the playoffs with 14 points in 17 games, with seven of those points coming in that series win over the Bruins. He played a major role in helping Montreal upset the Presidents Trophy winners and helped lead his team to within two wins of their first Stanley Cup Final berth in 21 years. As McGuire pointed out, it wasnt just Subbans skill - that helped him win the 2013 Norris Trophy - that allowed him to take a big step forward in the playoffs, but also the enthusiasm he showed in that interview and how he applies that both on and off the ice. "I remember when P.K. went to his first World Junior Championship and talking to him before he flew over to Pardubice," McGuire said. "He was beaming and just so excited to go over there and to be part of the experience. Obviously then he was such a raw talent and hes worked hard to get to where he is now. But that excitement and enthusiasm for the game has never faded. Its still there now and thats a main reason for what youre seeing now. Thats why hes a leader. He loves the game; he plays it the right way and youre seeing that more and more now. Can he improve? Yes and hell tell you that. But what youre seeing now is the potential anyone who knew him well saw." While winning the Norris Trophy last season impressed his teammates, that passion for the game and what he did to help the Canadiens go deep into the playoffs was equally if not more impressive. "Hes definitely maturing and hes showing why he won the Norris Trophy," said teammate Carey Price on Saturday. "He had an excellent postseason. For us to win the Cup, were going to need him to play that way. Hes a fun-loving guy; hes fun to hang out with and he makes it enjoyable to come to the rink every day. Hes a really good buddy of mine obviously and I was happy to see him succeed in the playoffs and prove a lot of doubters wrong." Canadiens defenceman Mike Weaver was acquired at the trade deadline and in his short time as Subbans teammate, realized how infectious the 25-year-olds love of the game was having an effect on him..dddddddddddd "I think a lot of the time the enjoyment of the game is sometimes forgotten," said Weaver, who is an unrestricted free agent in July. "You almost gotta get back to the time when you had fun playing hockey and instead of it being a job, its more of a privilege. Playing with him and even in playing in Montreal, I started to enjoy the game again." When told of Weavers comments, a flattered Subban told the media that enjoying the game and embracing the moment has always been an important part of his approach. "I enjoy every moment," Subban said on Saturday. "Through the ups and downs you have to because as much as careers are long, theyre short too. You just dont know what can happen so you have to enjoy your time when youre out there. The playoffs are a fun time to play and I obviously enjoy playing that time of year." Subban, who is a restricted free agent again this July (this time with arbitration rights), will continue to be a hot topic as the offseason gets under way. But before he headed off for what will be his shortest summer yet as an NHLer, he made it clear he wants to continue to enjoy the playoff moments with the Canadiens and help them build towards and achieve their ultimate goal of winning their 25th Stanley Cup. "Theres something about that," Subban explained. "Theres something about building a team and being part of a special group that youve seen grow from the bottom up and add blocks along the way. Theres something special about winning with a team like that. I believe we have an opportunity to do that here. I look at the Montreal Canadiens winning the Cup in 93 and only being to the conference finals two times since then, and Ive been to them both times. A lot of guys go their whole career and never make it to a conference final and get to within two wins of a Stanley Cup Final, so I understand the importance of taking advantage of those moments. Its unfortunate we didnt get that done this year, but I know that the future is bright and theres going to be plenty of opportunities for us to redeem ourselves and take that next step." James Murphy is a freelance reporter who also writes for NHL.com, the Boston Herald and XNsports.com. He covered the Boston Bruins/NHL for last 11 seasons writing for ESPNBoston.com, ESPN.com, NHL.com, NESN.com, the Boston Metro, Insidehockey.com and Le Hockey Magazine. Murphy also currently hosts the radio show "Murphys Hockey Law" heard Saturdays 9-11 AM ET on Sirius/XM NHL Network Radio and 4-6 PM ET on Websportsmedia.com. In addition to that, he is a regular guest TSN 690 in Montreal and Sirius/XM NHL Network Radio as well as a hockey analyst on CTV Montreal. 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