The Islanders couldn’t take more than a one-goal advantage despite an overwhelming early edge in shots against the tired Blue Jackets, playing a second game within 22 hours.
Still, a late flurry gave them a 3-2 victory on Sunday at UBS Arena to win their second straight, snapping the Blue Jackets’ four-game winning streak overall and four-game road winning streak.
No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer’s shot from the left point deflected off a defender’s stick to tie at 2-2 at 18:53 of the third period with the Islanders skating six-on-five. Simon Holmstrom poked in the winner with 37.3 seconds left.
Defenseman Denton Mateychuk, following his own initial attempt, gave the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead at 12:10 of the third period.
David Rittich stopped 20 shots while the Blue Jackets’ Elvis Merzlikins made 36 saves, keeping his team in the game until they perked up.
Coach Patrick Roy kept his forward alignment intact from the end of Friday’s 3-1 win in Washington to conclude a 1-2-1 road trip with Mathew Barzal on Bo Horvat’s wing with Emil Heineman and Cal Ritchie centering Kyle Palmieri and Jonathan Drouin on the second line.
It marked the first time Horvat and Barzal have started a game together on the Islanders’ top line since Feb. 1, when Barzal suffered a season-ending knee injury.
The Islanders held an 18-3 shot advantage in the first period against the Blue Jackets, who beat the visiting Blues 3-2 on Saturday night before traveling to Long Island. Schaefer, named October’s rookie of the month on Saturday, connected from the high slot for a power-play goal to make it 1-0 at 5:53 on the Islanders’ ninth straight shot after the Blue Jackets took the match’s first attempt on net.
Rittich nearly gave it back with an ill-advised clearing attempt up the middle of the Islanders’ zone directly to an open Dmitri Voronkov, whose shot from the slot was turned aside at 14:02.
The Blue Jackets, not unexpectedly, found their legs in the second period as the Islanders, at one point going seven minutes, 51 seconds between shots, put them on three power plays, and Adam Fantilli found Miles Wood at the crease to tie it at 1-1 at 15:21 while skating at even strength.
Notes & quotes: Roy alternated his goalies for the fourth straight game but insisted he has not gone to an even split between Rittich and Ilya Sorokin. “We’re not going to alternate,” Roy said. “We’re going to play 15 games in (30) days in November. We’re going to need two goalies.” Roy added Sorokin, who gave his best 60-minute effort of the season in making 22 saves in Friday’s 3-1 win in Washington, would be back in net against the visiting Bruins on Tuesday night…Roy said forward Max Shabanov (upper body), who missed his sixth game, skated on Sunday but was not close to returning…Forward Max Tsyplakov and defenseman Adam Boqvist remained the healthy scratches…Jets tight end Jeremy Ruckert of Lindenhurst served as the analyst on the Islanders’ radio broadcast for a portion of the first period. Ruckert said on air he grew up an Islanders fan.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.