UNIONDALE, N.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. Yan Gomes Nationals Jersey . -- Masahiro Tanaka knows that first appearance in a spring training game for the New York Yankees will be scrutinized. Carter Kieboom Jersey . 1. CAVALIERS: At 19-20, theyre a mess. Watched the game Tuesday night vs. Phoenix and their defence was poor (107 points and 52 per cent for Suns). Where is the high level play from Kyrie Irving and LeBron James (13 turnovers!)? Kevin Love looks like a man thats wondering what he got himself into. https://www.cheapnationals.com/1287r-daniel-hudson-jersey-nationals.html . Linemates Ryan Johansen and Boone Jenner each had a goal and an assist in the first period, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 36 saves to lead the Blue Jackets past the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Saturday night. Custom Washington Nationals Jerseys . In taking its goal tally to 99 in all competitions already this season, City delivered another demonstration of its lethal firepower at Etihad Stadium to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- Watford. Washington Nationals Gear . So far, so good: Gonzalez has allowed one run through 12 innings this season. His second start came Tuesday night, when he gave up only three singles over six innings to lead the Nationals to a 5-0 victory over the Miami Marlins.One of the most sought after hurlers in the MLB off-season might be off the market -for everybody. Several Japanese newspapers reported Thursday that Masahiro Tanaka will stay in his home country. The Rakuten Golden Eagles control the rights to Tanaka until the end of 2015 and will reportedly not allow major league teams to bid for him. Instead, they are willing to make him the highest paid Japanese pitcher in history by offering him up to triple his current annual salary of approximately $4 million. By retaining the 25-year-old, the Eagles lose the chance of obtaining a $200 million compensatory posting fee from whatever team that signed him.dddddddddddd The New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers are reportedly interested in Tanaka. The Eagles would still be able to post him after next season before he becomes a free agent in two years. The 62 right-hander finished the regular season with a 24-0 record, posting a 1.27 ERA and 0.94 WHIP. He won his second Eiji Sawamura Award as Japans best pitcher and also took home the Pacific League MVP. In seven seasons with the Eagles, his ERA is 2.30 and his WHIP is 1.108. ' ' '