Islanders hand Avalanche sixth straight loss

NEW YORK -- Ryan Pulock scored his second goal of the game 2:23 into overtime to give the New York Islanders a 4-3 win against the Colorado Avalanche at Barclays Center on Saturday.

Colorado (22-22-10) has lost six in a row (0-4-2) and has allowed at least four goals in 10 of its past 14 games.
Jordan Eberle had a goal and an assist, Josh Bailey scored and Robin Lehner made 25 saves for New York (32-16-6), which has won 15 of its past 20 games and is 6-0-1 in its past seven at home.
WATCH: [All Avalanche vs. Islanders highlights]
Pulock won it for New York when he one-timed Casey Cizikas' feed from the right circle past Varlamov for his fifth goal of the season.
"We kind of dug ourselves a hole to start [by] getting down 2-0, but we stuck with it," Pulock said. "We found a way. We didn't go into a shell; we kept playing and found a way to get it done."
Carl Soderberg had a goal and two assists, Erik Johnson had a goal and an assist, and J.T. Compher tied it with 2:45 remaining in the third period for the Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov made 37 saves.

It was the Avalanche's second straight loss in overtime; they lost 4-3 at the Washington Capitals on Thursday. Colorado is 1-10 in games decided after regulation, including 1-9 in overtime.
"Lots of positives," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "It's disappointing to a certain extent that we were unable to get two points out of this one, but I also believe we just played two really good teams in their building and found a way to get points in both of them."
Soderberg gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead at 10:19 of the first period. Johnson's shot from the point bounced off the end boards into the slot, where Soderberg quickly put it past Lehner for his 18th goal of the season.
Johnson made it 2-0 during a 4-on-4 situation at 2:36 of the second when he took a pass from Soderberg and scored with a wrist shot from between the circles. But Eberle made it 2-1 at 18:13 when he stuffed a rebound over the goal line after Varlamov made a save Anders Lee's wrist shot from the slot.

"It gave them life for sure," Bednar said of Eberle's goal. "You knew they were gonna come. They're in first place for a reason."
Islanders forward Matt Martin kept it a one-goal game 6:38 into the third period when he made a diving play to block Nathan MacKinnon's open-net chance with Lehner caught out of position after attempting to play the puck in the right face-off circle.
"The turning point was the save [Martin] made," New York coach Barry Trotz said. "From that point on, we just stayed with it. Obviously, the goal at the end of the second period was huge.
"Not every play's going to be executed correctly, but the reason it didn't end up in the back of our net is because of urgency and work ethic coming back."

Bailey then tied it 2-2 at 8:03 when he took a pass from Michael Dal Colle and backhanded his own rebound past Varlamov. Pulock put the Islanders ahead 3-2 during a 4-on-3 power play at 13:57 when he one-timed Eberle's feed from the left circle past Varlamov for his first goal since Dec. 31 (16 games).
"It felt good; it's been a while since I scored," Pulock said. "There were times when maybe I was gripping the stick a little too tight, but I was able to get a couple tonight. Hopefully I can stay hot."
Compher tied it at 17:15 when his backhand shot hit the skate of Islanders defenseman Devon Toews in front of the net and trickled past Lehner to make it 3-3.
Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie hit the crossbar with a slap shot 15 seconds into overtime.

They said it

"At least we're not coming out of them empty-handed, but we're still not winning games. It's hard to see any moral victories out of these." -- Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog
"Everyone feels like they're a big part of what's going on around here. The coaching staff does a good job of getting everybody involved, so we do it by committee; there's no one line that does it. We need all four lines and six D and both goalies. We always talk about it being a family, but it really is in here, and a brotherhood. Guys are battling for one another, not for themselves." -- Islanders forward Matt Martin

Need to know

Colorado is 5-15-5 in its past 25 games. … It was the first time the Islanders trailed at an intermission since Jan. 8; they were ahead or tied in 24 straight. … Islanders center Brock Nelson had two assists to extend his point streak to four games (one goal, four assists). … New York center Mathew Barzal went 0-for-7 on face-offs. … The Islanders were without right wing Cal Clutterbuck, who sustained an undisclosed injury during a 2-1 shootout win at the New Jersey Devils on Thursday. Tom Kuhnhackl played for the first time since Jan. 3.

What's next

Avalanche: At the Boston Bruins on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; SN1, TVAS, NESN, ALT, NHL.TV)
Islanders: Host the Minnesota Wild on Sunday (Barclays Center; 3 p.m. ET; MSG+, FS-N, FS-WI, NHL.TV)