COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s the Islanders’ first point streak of the season. Just not their first winning streak.
That streak ended at one after Patrik Laine’s blistering shot from the right circle at 1:49 of overtime gave the Blue Jackets a 3-2 win on Thursday night at Nationwide Arena.
The Islanders failed to capitalize on three power-play chances, another strong outing from goalie Ilya Sorokin and an odd-man opportunity in overtime as Anders Lee, coming off the bench, could not connect on a give-and-go with Mathew Barzal.
Sorokin made 29 saves while Elvis Merzlikins stopped 34 shots for the Blue Jackets.
The Islanders (1-2-1) notched their first win, 4-1, on Tuesday night behind Sorokin’s superb play and two third-period goals from Oliver Wahlstrom. They had allowed 11 goals in losing their first two games as their pace of play was not fast enough.
Barzal certainly was skating well, though, as he got around Gustav Nyquist and snapped in a wrist shot from the slot past defenseman Andy Greene’s screen to tie the score at 2 at 5:03 of the third period.
The Islanders entered Thursday hoping Tuesday’s win would lead to more consistent play.
"Any time you win a game, you start to feel better on the road," said Lee, who returned after a one-game absence because of a non-COVID-19 stomach illness.
"We didn’t have the start we wanted in the first two games. As the game went on in Chicago, we got better and better and got closer to where we want to be. I think that was evident in the way the game went and how the guys played. We’re looking to build off of that and continue to build that confidence and feel better and better each night."
The Islanders couldn’t hold their second-period momentum as the Blue Jackets scored twice within 33 seconds to take a 2-1 lead into the third period.
Boone Jenner’s power-play goal as Jakub Voracek’s shot deflected in off him at the crease tied it at 1 at 18:00. Casey Cizikas was in the penalty box for the second time in the period after high-sticking Cole Sillinger. He had also hooked Jenner at 3:48.
Cizikas’ infractions left the Islanders’ penalty kill without two of their top forwards, including Jean-Gabriel Pageau, sidelined Thursday because of a non-COVID-19 illness.
Sillinger, the 12th overall pick in July, then scored his first career goal as he got to the crease at 18:33 of the second period.
Defenseman Scott Mayfield had put the Islanders ahead, 1-0, at 10:35 of the second period as he cut off the puck along the right wall and connected on a backhander off the Blue Jackets’ Sean Kuraly.
As he did Tuesday at Chicago, coach Barry Trotz began mixing and matching his line combinations in the second period while starting the game with new defense pairings that also stemmed from Tuesday’s second period. He split long-running top-pair Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock, putting Pelech with Mayfield while Pulock was paired with Zdeno Chara and Andy Greene was reunited with Noah Dobson, though Trotz continued mixing and matching pairs.
"For me, it doesn’t change anything," Pelech said. "We’re all pretty comfortable playing with one another. It’s been the same group together here for a few years now."
Sorokin had carried over his sharp play from Tuesday’s win — he made 39 saves, including 31 through the first two periods in Chicago — as he stopped all 11 of the Blue Jackets’ first-period shots. That included gloving Sillinger’s shot off the rush with 11.5 seconds remaining, shortly after the Islanders' first power play expired. They are 1 for 9 overall on the man advantage.
