Brock Nelson scored the go-ahead goal at 6:10 of the third period to propel the visiting New York Islanders to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.

Oliver Wahlstrom and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each scored a goal and Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves for the Islanders, who have won three in a row overall and five straight against the Blue Jackets dating back to last season. New York won the last three meetings versus Columbus in 2021-22 and skated to a 4-3 overtime victory on Nov. 12.

Islanders forward Mathew Barzal notched two assists to extend his point streak to seven games.

Columbus’ Kent Johnson set up Yegor Chinakhov’s power-play goal before scoring one of his own 33 seconds later in the second period. The multi-point performance was the first of Johnson’s NHL career.

Johnny Gaudreau added two assists and Joonas Korpisalo turned aside 21 shots for the Blue Jackets, who have lost two in a row.

Nelson forced a turnover along the boards and skated in on net before lifting a shot just under the crossbar to give New York a 3-2 lead. Nelson’s goal was his team-leading 10th of the season and third in two games against Columbus this season.

Wahlstrom unleashed a blast from the top of the right circle to open the scoring with 2:34 remaining in the first period. Walhstrom’s goal was his sixth of the season, while the assist for Simon Holmstrom served as his first point of his NHL career.

Pageau converted a carom off the end boards to double the advantage at 7:51 of the second period. The goal was Pageau’s sixth of the season and fifth in his last six games.

New York’s Cal Clutterbuck was whistled for interference and defenseman Adam Pelech for slashing at 13:37 to put Columbus on a five-on-three power play.

The Blue Jackets made the Islanders pay, as Chinakhov’s blast from above the hashmarks halved the deficit at 14:05 before Johnson’s slap shot from the left circle forged a 2-2 tie.

–Field Level Media