Nelson scores in OT, Islanders top Blue Jackets for fourth straight win

COLUMBUS -- Brock Nelson scored 33 seconds into overtime, and the New York Islanders won their fourth straight game, 3-2 against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Saturday.

New York controlled the overtime from the face-off, and Columbus goalie Joonas Korpisalo made a save on an open Nick Leddy at the edge of the crease 29 seconds in. But Anthony Beauvillier (two assists) got the rebound and passed to Leddy in the right circle, where he found Nelson in front for a quick wrist shot.
Mathew Barzal and Michael Dal Colle also scored for the Islanders (5-3-0), and Thomas Greiss made 34 saves.
WATCH: [All Islanders vs. Blue Jackets highlights]
"[Leddy] stayed with it," Nelson said. "I was able to get away from their D and the puck came to me. It was a good play by [Leddy] and I put it in."
Seth Jones and Boone Jenner scored, and Korpisalo made 31 saves for the Blue Jackets (3-3-2), who extended their point streak to four games (2-0-2). Columbus lost 3-2 in overtime at the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday.
"A loss is a loss," Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson said. "It's nice to get the point, but it always hurts to not actually get the two points."
Barzal extended his point streak to four games (four goals, two assists) at 8:25 of the first period to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead. Barzal skated around Zach Werenski in the right circle and scored between Korpisalo's pads.

It was the first time in four games New York scored first.
Jones tied it 1-1 at 12:07 of the first with a shot from above the right face-off circle with Riley Nash setting a screen.
"They have you earn everything you get," Jones said. "They don't give up a lot of odd-man rushes. They play very tight, defensive-minded, so it was up to us to kind of get inside and try to create something."
Dal Colle made it 2-1 16:32 into the first on a rebound after Korpisalo made an initial save against Beauvillier.
The Islanders survived the Blue Jackets' power play in the second period despite Greiss being without his stick for more than 30 seconds. The zone was cleared when Cal Clutterbuck blocked Werenski's shot.

Jenner's first goal of the season and 200th NHL point made it 2-2 at 17:36 of the second.
Jenner almost scored again at 2:24 of the third period when his one-handed attempt went off Greiss and behind him. The puck was inches from going over the goal line when he reached back with his paddle and cleared it.
"This is a good league," said Islanders coach Barry Trotz, who gave an animated speech to his players after using his timeout at 2:28 of the third period. "There's not much separating anybody, so you've got to weather the storms. It's no different than teams will have to weather some of our storms."

They said it

"I didn't like the way we started. We gave up probably half our chances, maybe more than that, in the first two shifts of the third period than they had the rest of the period." -- Islanders coach Barry Trotz
"These are points that are so important. We've gotten in as the second wild card the last two years." -- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella

Need to know

The Islanders played without forward Leo Komarov because of an illness. Cole Bardreau, a 26-year-old forward, participated in a morning skate with Bridgeport of the American Hockey League but was recalled and arrived shortly before warmups to make his NHL debut. … There was one penalty in the game; Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield was called for hooking at 3:55 of the second period. New York has had three power plays during the four-game winning streak; it's the first time in Islanders history they've had one or fewer power plays in four straight games. … The Islanders blocked a team record 33 shots. … Nelson has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past five games. … Blue Jackets defenseman Ryan Murray (upper body) was replaced by Kukan. Murray, who has a history of back problems, played one shift in the third period Friday.

What's next

Islanders: Host the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday (Nassau Coliseum; 7 p.m. ET; MSG+, FS-A, FS-A+, NHL.TV)
Blue Jackets: At the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SN, FS-O, NHL.TV)