Islanders Stay Alive With a 4-1 Victory : NHL playoffs: Canadiens’ streak ends at 11, but they can wrap up series at home Monday.

The New York Islanders, keyed by Glenn Healy’s goaltending and a solid defense, avoided elimination in the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

Patrick Flatley scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period as the Islanders sent the Wales Conference final back to Montreal for a fifth game on Monday night.

The Canadiens lead the best-of-seven series, 3-1, and need only one victory to advance to the Stanley Cup finals.

As the seconds ticked down at the Nassau Coliseum, the sellout crowd of 16,297 chanted, “U-S-A, U-S-A” to send its team back to Canada.

The Canadiens had won a record-tying 11 consecutive games in the playoffs before running into a desperate Islander team determined not to go home for the summer yet.

The Islanders, defeating Montreal for the first time at home in 10 games (1-8-1) since Oct. 15, 1988, simply wore down the Canadiens with a grinding defensive effort.

They allowed the Canadiens only 24 shots while getting 25 themselves. And when the Islanders needed it, Healy was there to make the big saves.

The Islanders have never been swept in a seven-game playoff series. Saturday night marked the fifth time in five playoff series that the Islanders won a Game 4 to avoid a sweep. The Islanders are 25-11 when facing elimination in the playoffs, 13-3 at home.

Only two teams in NHL history--the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and 1975 Islanders--have come back from 3-0 deficits.

The Canadiens scored first on a rebound goal by Paul DiPietro at 6:22 of the second period. The Islanders tied it at 13:14 on Steve Thomas’ eighth goal of the playoffs.

Flatley gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead when he redirected a cross-ice pass from Ray Ferraro at the right boards at 5:57 of the third. David Volek and Benoit Hogue also scored.