BUFFALO, N.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. Justin Hardy Jersey . Hes recovered from a scary injury and cleared to play. Mingo, who was hospitalized with a bruised lung he sustained in an Aug. Tony Gonzalez Jersey . -- The Denver Broncos are shuffling their offensive line this off-season and Orlando Franklin provided some insight into their plans Monday by tweeting that hes moving from right tackle to left guard. http://www.officialatlantafalconsfootbal...r-jersey-womens. Austin Watson, Scott Ford, Filip Forsberg and Mark Van Guilder had the other goals for the Admirals (30-21-12). Scott Darling made 30 saves for his 10th win of the season. Damontae Kazee Jersey .com) - Delon Wright made all 12 of his free throws and finished with 21 points and six assists as No. Mohamed Sanu Jersey . Got Jacks? Pulling off a comeback for the ages, feisty Stephen F. Austin became the latest No. 12 seed to pull off an upset, tying the game on Desmond Haymons did-that-just-happen four-point play with 3.BOSTON -- With both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook sitting out for the first time since the franchise set up shop in Oklahoma City, the Thunder needed about a half to figure things out. And then the Western Conference leaders put the lottery-bound Boston Celtics away. "We take pride in playing hard no matter whos on the floor," coach Scott Brooks said after his team went on a 17-2 third-quarter run to beat Boston 101-83 on Friday night. "Obviously, were a better team with Kevin and Russell. But it doesnt make us not a team." Durant, the NBA scoring leader, missed his first game of the season, joining fellow All-Star Westbrook on the bench. That was only a minor setback, with Serge Ibaka scoring nine of his 21 points and adding five rebounds in the pivotal third quarter to lead Oklahoma City to its sixth straight victory. Jeremy Lamb came off the bench to score 19 points, and Reggie Jackson had 14 points and eight assists. "Everybodys just got to do their job a little bit better and a little bit harder," said Thunder centre Kendrick Perkins, a former Celtic, who had nine rebounds. "Its our first time playing without both of them, so it was good." Durant was the franchises first pick in 2007, its final year as the Seattle SuperSonics, and Westbrook was their first-round pick after the team moved to Oklahoma City for the following season. Together, they led the Thunder to the 2012 NBA Finals and were poised for another deep run last year before Westbrook was injured in the first round series against Houston. Oklahoma City has managed to stay atop the West with Westbrook out since Christmas to recover from right knee surgery. And Durant has been the reason, going on a scoring tear with at least 30 points in nine consecutive games before sitting out Friday night. But DDurant watched this one from the bench in warmups, then was icing his right shoulder in the locker room after the game, joking around with Westbrook.dddddddddddd "Theyre a good team without him -- as you can see," Celtics guard Phil Pressey said. Brooks said he did not know if his star would return on Saturday night against Philadelphia. "Well see how he wakes up," the coach said. Jeff Green scored 16 points and Gerald Wallace scored 12 of his 13 points in the first half, before the Thunder pulled away with a 17-2 run in the third quarter. Rajon Rondo had eight assists and five points in his fifth game since returning from reconstructive knee surgery. The Celtics have lost 13 of 15 games. "Theyre down Kevin Durant, and I think their team is thinking OK, this is an opportunity for a lot of guys that dont play as much when hes playing minutes," Celtics centre Kris Humphries said. "Something happened. You guys all saw the game. It wasnt great. Thanks for staying for the whole game." The Thunder allowed the Celtics to open a five-point lead early in the second quarter but then scored 18 of the next 22 points to take a nine-point lead. It was a two-point game after Boston scored the first basket of the second half, but Oklahoma City opened a 60-53 lead and then scored 17 of the next 19 points. In all, Oklahoma City outscored the Celtics 27-13 in the third. Notes: Rondo became the sixth player in Celtics history to reach the 4,000-assist plateau. Bill Russell is next, with 4,100. ... The Thunder have the best record in Western Conference and are 6-0 on the road against Eastern Conference teams. They will try to remain perfect Saturday at Philadelphia... Celtics F Jared Sullinger dislocated his right index finger in the first half but returned to the game. 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