Eberle, Nelson Help Islanders Rally Past Blue Jackets
NEW YORK (AP) — Jordan Eberle and Brock Nelson scored early in the third period and Jaroslav Halak made 46 saves as the New York Islanders rallied for a 4-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.
Columbus led 3-2 heading into the third after Nick Foligno scored on a breakaway late in the second. The Blue Jackets outshot the Islanders 26-12 in the first period and 40-28 through 40 minutes, dominating the game for significant stretches.
However, Eberle tied it 3-3 with his 18th goal at 2:49 of the third when he corralled a loose puck at the top of the slot and whipped it past backup Columbus goalile Joonas Korpisalo.
Nelson then managed to redirect a rebound past Korpisalo at 5:14 for his 11th of the season and only his second goal since Dec. 7. Andrew Ladd and Ryan Pulock had assists on the goal two seconds after a penalty to Columbus rookie forward Pierre-Luc Dubois had expired.
Nick Leddy and Josh Bailey also scored for the Islanders, who won for the first time in three games since the All-Star break. They lost the first two by combined 9-1 margin against Florida and Toronto.
Josh Anderson and Cam Atkinson also scored for Columbus, which has lost six of its last eight. Korpisalo finished with 34 saves.
Late in the second, Foligno swooped down on Halak after Oliver Bjorkstrand sent him a perfect pass from the defensive zone and slid a backhand along the ice past Halak with 1:57 left for his 10th goal of the season.
Bailey had put the Islanders up 2-1 at 11:14 of the second with his 13th goal.
Atkinson quickly tied it at 12:36 when he rifled the puck by Halak after linemate Artemi Panarin intercepted the puck from Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield. Panarin, acquired from Chicago last June, leads the Blue Jackets in assists with 29 and points with 42.
Atkinson's eighth goal of the season extended his points streak to four games.
Anderson opened the scoring for Columbus at 6:12 of the first period with his 16th of the season on the power play. Dubois and Jussi Jokinen had assists on the first career power-play goal for the 23-year-old Anderson who has 34 career goals.
Leddy's point shot with 2:22 left in the first eluded Korpisalo to knot the score at 1. John Tavares and Mathew Barzal recorded assists on Leddy's seventh goal and his first in 30 games. Leddy's previous tally came Nov. 24 against Philadelphia.
NOTES: The Islanders are 12-1-0 on Saturdays. ... The Islanders scratched forwards Alan Quine and Ross Johnston plus defenseman Sebastian Aho. ... Columbus scratched forward Markus Hannikainen and defensemen Scott Harrington and Cameron Gaunce.
UP NEXT
Islanders: Host Nashville on Monday night.
Blue Jackets: Host Washington on Tuesday night.
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