COLUMBUS — Brock Nelson scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, helping the New York Islanders defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 at Nationwide Arena on Friday.
Oliver Wahlstrom and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored, Mathew Barzal had two assists, and Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves for the Islanders (14-8-0), who have won three straight games.
“We were good in the first period,” New York coach Lane Lambert said. “We were moving our feet, good on the forecheck. I give our guys credit. They came ready to play.”
Video: NYI@CBJ: Sorokin makes save on Gaudreau
Kent Johnson had a goal and an assist, Johnny Gaudreau had two assists, and Joonas Korpisalo made 21 saves for the Blue Jackets (7-12-1), who have lost two in a row and three of four.
“We played well,” Columbus coach Brad Larsen said. “There’s not much to criticize tonight. A pretty solid game again. It’s coming. We’ve got a lot of new faces in there too. They’re doing a good job.”
Video: NYI@CBJ: Nelson gives Islanders lead in 3rd period
The Blue Jackets trailed 2-0 before getting a 5-on-3 power play in the second period and scoring twice to tie it.
“We’re not shooting ourselves in the foot and that was a big problem for the first 12-14 games of the season,” Gaudreau said. “We’re learning from our mistakes. And, you know, we’re doing a better job of that now for sure. We don’t want to let it leak into our game again, because it’s a dangerous game to play.”
Nelson made it 3-2 at 6:10. He won the puck along the right boards, skated in on Korpisalo and scored inside the right post.
“I feel like we’re in pretty good control for the first 30 minutes up until the power play,” Nelson said. “Couple minutes here with all the stuff that happened, but all of a sudden you’re back in a tie hockey game.
“It was a good response from us to weather that.”
Video: NYI@CBJ: Wahlstrom nets 6th goal of season in 1st
Wahlstrom gave New York a 1-0 lead at 17:26 of the first period with a wrist shot from the top of the right face-off circle. Simon Holmstrom got an assist on the play for his first NHL point in his second game.
Pageau made it 2-0 on the power play at 7:51 of the second. Barzal’s shot from the high slot was off target, but Pageau took the rebound off the end boards and stuffed the puck inside the left post.
Yegor Chinakhov cut it to 2-1 at 14:05 with the two-man advantage when his shot from the high slot got through a screen. Johnson tied it 2-2 33 seconds later at 14:38 during the same power play.
“We’re breaking in really well, making those plays under pressure and setting up really well,” Johnson said of the Blue Jackets power play. “It seems to be working. We’ve been set up every time and that’s half the battle.”
Lambert said, “It was a little bit of adversity, but that’s not a bad thing. I thought our guys handled it well. At the end of the day, we came out and won the third period and won the hockey game.
“So, was it an ideal sequence? No. It’s disappointing that we were down 5-on-3 anyway.”
NOTES: The Blue Jackets game at the Nashville Predators on Saturday was postponed because of a water main break affecting Bridgestone Arena. A makeup date has not been announced. … Johnson had the first multipoint game of his 26-game NHL career. …Forward Carson Meyer had one shot on goal and played 7:16 in his season debut for Columbus. He was recalled from Cleveland of the American Hockey League on Thursday. … Barzal has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) during a seven-game point streak. He leads the NHL with 23 assists. … The Islanders have won five straight against the Blue Jackets. … Nelson leads New York with three game-winning goals. … Islanders forward Kyle Palmieri (upper body) missed a second straight game.
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