”There was some nerves,” Nielsen said Sunday night after assisting on a goal in the Detroit Red Wings’ 4-3 overtime victory over the Islanders. ”I’ve been looking at the schedule for a long time waiting for this game. Feels like now that it’s done, I can move on.”

The 32-year-old Danish center was drafted by the Islanders in the third round in 2002, No. 87 overall, and had 119 goals and 230 assists over 10 seasons in New York before signing a six-year, $31.5-milion deal with Detroit.

There were about a dozen signs held by fans near the ice welcoming Nielsen back during warmups and he received some applause from the crowd when his name was called during the announcement of the Red Wings’ starters. Nielsen also got an ovation during a video tribute about eight minutes into the first period.

”It was awesome,” he said. ”I had been here so long. So many people in this organization mean so much to me. I was happy about that.”

Nielsen knew this wasn’t going to be just another game.

”There’s going to be some butterflies for me and some nerves,” Nielsen said when he met with reporters about three hours before the game. ”Hopefully it just gonna take a couple of shifts and I can relax and play my game.”

Nielsen, one of three players to leave the Islanders in free agency along with Matt Martin (Toronto) and Kyle Okposo (Buffalo), says he wasn’t looking to go elsewhere, but began exploring other options when talks with the Islanders stalled.

”It wasn’t an easy decision,” said Nielsen, who was the longest tenured Islander at the time of his departure. ”I don’t have anything bad to say about anything here. It dragged out for some reason and got to a point where I got a chance to talk to other teams and kind of realized it might be fun to get a new challenge and try something new.”

So what does he cherish most about his time in New York?

”A lot, from playing the first game to scoring the first goal,” Nielsen said. ”The first playoff series I was in against Pittsburgh (in 2013). The (Nassau) Coliseum, just how loud it was. I don’t think I’m going to experience that again. To winning a round last year. All the friendships, all the people you met not only with hockey, but away from the rink. … One-third of my life I lived here, so lot of stuff you miss about (not) being here, too.”

Nielsen said it felt `weird’ flying into town Saturday night after Detroit’s loss at Pittsburgh, and then staying in a hotel nearby. When he arrived at the arena, he saw former teammate Johnny Boychuk by the player’s entrance and jumped in his car for the `two-minute ride’ down to the parking level.

The Red Wings were in the market for a new center after former star Pavel Datsyuk decided to end his NHL career and return to Russia. Nielsen has fit right in with his new team, totaling six goals and nine assists in 26 games.

”I love him,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. ”He’s got inner drive to be great. He’s selfless, he does what it takes to win for the team. He’s an all-around player who plays in most situations for us, penalty kills, power plays, can go up against other teams’ best players. … He’s got lots of experience, he’s a leader-type person. There’s no question he brings a presence just by with the way he handles himself and the type of teammate he is. ”

With the Red Wings remaining in town overnight before flying out to Winnipeg on Monday, Nielsen expected to spend time with some of his former teammates after the game.

”The friendship you build up with all these people over the years,” Nielsen said. ”We had some really tough times and a lot of the guys went through the tough times here where we weren’t winning. Just going from that to building a competitive team, you just build a special bond when you go through that.”

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Follow Vin Cherwoo at www.twitter.com/VinCherwooAP

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The Islanders clinched an Eastern Conference playoff spot despite a 4-3 shootout loss to the Hurricanes on Tuesday night. With the point they received by reaching overtime, coupled with a loss by the Winnipeg Jets at Washington, the Islanders secured a place in the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

“We got the point, and we secured our spot,” defenseman Andrew MacDonald said, “so we couldn’t be happier.”

John Tavares scored the goal that effectively sent them to the postseason, tying it with 1:01 left in regulation.

“We got our game going, and we got contributions from everybody and started to figure out what it takes to win,” Tavares said, reflecting on the season. “And you know we’re happy to be there and give ourselves an opportunity to compete in the playoffs. A lot of us haven’t had that experience.”

Josh Bailey and Brad Boyes also scored, and Evgeni Nabokov made 29 saves for the Islanders.

Riley Nash and Jeff Skinner scored in the shootout to give the Hurricanes the victory. Nash’s score came on his first career shootout attempt and only came about because coach Kirk Muller caught him showing off some moves during the morning skate.

“We just winged it, to be honest with you,” Muller said. “He had a couple good moves and, you know what, let’s see if he can do it in the game. … If I didn’t see him do it this morning, we probably wouldn’t have opted to do it.”

Carolina’s Jordan Staal had a goal and an assist, Patrick Dwyer and Alexander Semin added goals, and Dan Ellis made 36 saves before stopping Frans Nielsen and Boyes in the shootout.

Nash and Skinner beat Nabokov with wrist shots in the shootout to help the Hurricanes sweep the soon-to-be division rival Islanders and earn their first consecutive wins since March 9-12.

“We’re starting to find our identity, and that’s important going into next year,” Ellis said. “For us to come up with big games against teams that are going to be in our division next year, it was a great effort. We really started to get our work boots on, play a smarter brand of hockey and we did really well tonight and got a big win.”

In earning a point for the 11th straight game, the Islanders (8-0-3 in April) wiped out three one-goal deficits — and the last came in dramatic fashion.

“It wasn’t our best game, but we found a way to get a big one late and get the point that we needed,” Bailey said.

Tavares made it 3-3 when his shot clicked off Carolina defenseman Justin Faulk’s skate and past Ellis. The goal originally was awarded to Kyle Okposo, but a review determined that he never touched the puck. Okposo finished with two assists.

Before that, the Hurricanes thought their third victory over the Islanders was firmly in hand.

Carolina went up 3-2 with 2:15 left in the second when Dwyer snapped a loose puck past Nabokov — the third in a series of short-lived leads for the Hurricanes.

Staal and Semin also put them up briefly, only to have the Islanders respond with tying goals. Staal made it 2-1 by scoring on a redirection with 3:40 left in the first, and Semin scored the first goal off a pretty give-and-go-feed from Eric Staal.

But Bailey and Boyes each erased those deficits. Bailey’s goal came on a rebound and made it 2-2 at 7:34 of the second. Boyes forged the first tie at 6:04 of the first when Mark Streit’s cross-ice pass clicked off his skate and past Ellis.

Game notes

New York C Keith Aucoin hit the crossbar on a breakaway about 4 1/2 minutes in. Michael Grabner struck the right post with about 3 minutes left in overtime. … Carolina’s Tuomo Ruutu drilled the right post against an open net with about 12 1/2 minutes left. … Hurricanes C Jiri Tlusty, who assisted on Staal’s goal, has points in six straight games.

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