Holmstrom scores in OT, Islanders rally to defeat Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS -- Simon Holmstrom scored at 1:47 of overtime, and the New York Islanders rallied from a two-goal deficit for a 4-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Saturday.

Holmstrom received a stretch pass from Tony DeAngelo on the right wing, cut to the net and scored around the outstretched right skate of Jet Greaves. 

“I think we did a great job of processing the puck before that and then waiting for the right moment, not giving the puck up and we found it and were able to put it in,” Holmstrom said.

The Islanders have won all eight of their games decided in overtime this season, including a 4-3 victory against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. As on Saturday, they also trailed 2-0 in that game. 

“I feel like we're calm and we just focus on what needs to be done and it doesn't matter if we're behind,” New York coach Patrick Roy said.

Scott Mayfield and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each had a goal and an assist, Mathew Barzal had two assists, and Ilya Sorokin made 27 saves for the Islanders (34-21-5), who have won four straight.

Zach Werenski had two assists, and Greaves made 22 saves for the Blue Jackets (29-21-8), who have lost two in a row following a seven-game winning streak. They lost 4-2 at the Boston Bruins on Thursday.

“Both games we probably deserved four points and we came away with one against two teams we’re chasing, and we only have 24 games left now,” Werenski said. “So, extremely disappointing. But in saying that, we’ve got a lot of hockey left and we're still in it, so we'll move on to the (New York) Rangers on Monday.”

Isac Lundestrom gave the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead at 2:30 of the first period. Dante Fabbro’s shot from the left point went off Lundestrom’s leg in the low slot and trickled through Sorokin’s five-hole.

Mason Marchment then scored from the inside edge of the right face-off circle to make it 2-0 at 3:58 of the second period. Werenski’s feed from the left corner was touch-passed by Charlie Coyle in the slot to Marchment for the finish.

Werenski, who helped Team USA win a gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, extended his point streak to nine games (13 points; two goals, 11 assists), his career high and the longest ever for a Blue Jackets defenseman.

“When we had them down 2-0, we had so many chances to make it 3-0, and Sorokin came up big, which was the same thing as in Boston,” Columbus coach Rick Bowness said. “When you get a chance to make that 3-0, and we had enough chances to do that, that eventually will bite you.”

New York tied it with two goals in 22 seconds. 

Anders Lee cut it to 2-1 at 11:37 by knocking in a rebound on the doorstep, and Pageau made it 2-2 at 11:59, rushing the net after his own shot and putting in the rebound from in close.

“Our approach was to have fun and come in and enjoy playing together, playing hard, and that's what we did,” Pageau said. “We stuck with it. We didn't have our best start, but we made some adjustments. I think those two goals in the second changed the whole momentum.”

Mayfield gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead at 17:10 on a shot from the right point that deflected off Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko and the skate of Werenski for his first goal in 26 games.

“There's glimpses of some good hockey and we felt like we're in control for a lot of it,” Coyle said. “They're a good team, but I don't know. I'm stunned just thinking about it right now as we're talking. It’s a game we know we can win and we don't.”

Adam Fantilli tied it 3-3 at 18:58 with a redirection of Werenski’s shot from the left point.

“I definitely think we deserved to be in the lead,” Werenski said. “We weren't and it's part of hockey. These last two games you have to find a way to get more than one point out of it, especially with the way we played and the circumstances of the season. That's definitely frustrating.”

NOTES: The Islanders were not penalized. … Barzal has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in a six-game point streak. … Marchment has scored 10 goals in 16 games since being acquired in a trade with the Seattle Kraken on Dec. 19, the fewest games required to score that many in Blue Jackets history (Alex Nylander, 17 games in 2023-24).