Dobson, Islanders recover to defeat Senators

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Noah Dobson had a goal and an assist, and the New York Islanders recovered for a 3-2 win against the Ottawa Senators at UBS Arena on Thursday.

After New York blew a two-goal lead in the second period, Dobson made it 3-2 at 6:45 of the third on a one-timer from Mathew Barzal.

“I wasn't thinking about passing that one, that's for sure, because Barzal put it right in the wheelhouse, and I was walking down,” Dobson said. “Big goal, big win. I'm happy about it.”

Bo Horvat also had a goal and an assist, and Ilya Sorokin made 45 saves for the Islanders (3-2-1), who had lost three in a row (0-2-1). They were 7-for-8 on the penalty kill.

“Your goaltender is your best penalty-killer, so I thought, they did a great job all night long really,” New York coach Lane Lambert said. “That was basically the reason why we won the hockey game is because our penalty kill was good.”

Claude Giroux and Jakob Chychrun scored for the Senators (3-4-0), who have lost three straight. Joonas Korpisalo made 35 saves.

“Very frustrating right now,” Giroux said. “We did a lot of good things. We’re playing in a couple of days here, so we’ll just regroup.”

Ottawa defenseman Erik Brannstrom left the game on a stretcher at 8:43 of the second period after he fell headfirst following a body check from Cal Clutterbuck.

The Senators announced the 24-year-old is alert and has use of his extremities. He was transported to the hospital and stayed overnight for further testing.

“Obviously, it was emotional for the guys and everyone involved,” Senators coach D.J. Smith said. “We’re awaiting word. It looks like he’s OK right now so it’s positive, but we’ll wait for more news.”

“You just hate to see it, honestly,” Clutterbuck said. “I'm sick to my stomach about it. Was then. I still am now.”

Horvat gave New York a 1-0 lead on a power play at 2:40 of the first period, swatting in a rebound after Korpisalo made an initial save on Dobson’s shot from the left-faceoff circle.

Clutterbuck made it 2-0 at 13:05 with a shot from between the circles after Casey Cizikas won a puck battle behind the net.

Giroux cut it to 2-1 on a 4-on-3 power play at 6:52 of the second period with a long wrist shot that found its way through traffic.

Chychrun tied it 2-2 at 12:25 when his wrist shot beat a screened Sorokin.

“We tried making that effort about him, and we tried to win that game for him,” Senators captain Brady Tkachuk said of Brannstrom. “Just what he means to our locker room, it’s emotional. You never want to see that, especially as good of a guy as he is.”

Sorokin stopped all 16 shots he faced in the third.

“We definitely want to be better in front of him [Sorokin],” Horvat said. “That’s staying out of the box and playing 5-on-5. And when you give up those penalty kills, it's going to be tough on your goaltender, but he was a brick wall in there again tonight.”

NOTES: Dobson extended his point streak to five games (one goal, five assists) and played 27:42. … Barzal extended his point streak to five games (one goal, four assists). ... Senators defenseman Travis Hamonic played his 800th NHL game. He was a second-round draft pick (No. 53) by the Islanders in 2008 and played his first seven seasons for them. … Giroux has 73 points (26 goals, 47 assists) in 68 games against the Islanders; only Pittsburgh Penguins centers Sidney Crosby (132 points; 41 goals, 91 assists in 88 games) and Evgeni Malkin (85 points; 32 goals, 53 assists in 74 games) have more against them among active players. … Chychrun had a game-high nine shots on goal in 28:12.