Depleted Ducks fall to Islanders, 3-2, in overtime

Take away the leading scorer, the primary playmaker and the top two goalies from the team possessing the NHL’s best record, and the Ducks still found a way to claim a point.

Center John Tavares scored a power-play goal in overtime to give the New York Islanders a 3-2 victory at Honda Center that denied Anaheim’s complete rally from a sharp loss of personnel.

Tavares’ goal,with 2 minutes 42 seconds left in overtime came after Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen committed an elbowing penalty on Calvin de Haan.

Earlier Wednesday evening, Ducks right wing Corey Perry joined teammate Ryan Getzlaf in sitting out the game because of what a team official said were flu symptoms.

Perry, the NHL’s player of the month in October, leads the league with 11 goals while first-line mate Getzlaf has contributed 14 points (11 assists) for the league’s leader in points.

Perry participated in Wednesday’s morning skate, but his symptoms grew worse after waking from an afternoon nap, Coach Bruce Boudreau said. Getzlaf never came to the arena Wednesday, the losses leaving the coach to install makeshift line combinations.

By the time New York defenseman Thomas Hickey committed a holding penalty 7:21 into the second period, the Ducks trailed, 2-0, and had been out-shot, 19-5.

Yet, on that power play, momentum turned, with center Ryan Kesler feeding forward Matt Beleskey for a goal.

Minutes later, the shots were 19-17, and then Ducks forward Emerson Etem launched a shot that had the benefit of a screen from teammate Devante Smith-Pelly.

Smith-Pelly lifted his left leg to let the puck pass him and strike the net for Etem’s first goal of the season, tying the score, 2-2, with 69 seconds left in the second period.

Etem would’ve been scratched had Perry and Getzlaf been able to play Wednesday.

“We were missing two of our leaders, obviously, but the guys were resilient,” Etem said.

Their absence, along with that of goalie Frederik Andersen, left a deep void early.

Despite being first off the ice at the Wednesday morning skate, Andersen was given another game off after reporting leg tightness in Friday’s overtime victory in Dallas.

Backup goalie Jason LaBarbera was beaten 3:38 into the game when Tavares scored the first of his two goals by rebounding De Haan’s shot to the net.

New York out-shot the undermanned Ducks, 11-4, in the first period as Anaheim was hamstrung by two penalties.

“They came out with more intensity, worked harder than we did in the first half of the game . . . that’s not an acceptable start,” defenseman Cam Fowler said. “We need to find a way to be ready, and not have to dig ourselves out of a hole.

“Obviously, we miss those guys, but no excuse to come out that way. To use that as an excuse would be silly. We just ran out of time, and you saw what happened in overtime, a lucky bounce.”

LaBarbera rallied from his quick deficit by stopping 31 shots in regulation, including sometimes extended third-period pressure by the Islanders and good looks by Kyle Okposo and Johnny Boychuk in overtime.

The Ducks play Friday at home against Arizona.

“Just hope nobody else catches it,” Boudreau said of flu.