Takeaways: Islanders Pick Up One Point in 4-3 OT Loss to Devils 

The New York Islanders fell to the New Jersey Devils 4-3 in overtime on Saturday night, extending their point streak to three games (2-0-1), but leaving a point on the table in the process.

The Islanders scored twice in the span of under two minutes in the third to make it 3-1, but saw the lead dissipate, as the Devils answered back to tie it up with two goals in the final five minutes, setting the table for Jack Hughes to get the job done in overtime.

Simon Holmstrom, Dennis Cholowski and Brock Nelson scored for the Islanders and Hughes (2G, 1A), Dawson Mercer and Stefan Noesen scored in regulation for the Devils, while Dougie Hamilton had a three-point night (3A). Ilya Sorokin turned aside 29 of 33 shots in the overtime loss, while Jacob Markstrom made 19 of 22 saves in the win.

"It wasn’t our best first two periods, but it was a 1-1 game at home going into the third," Kyle Palmieri said. "We had some good jump, tough bounce at the end there. This one stings, but we'll regroup and get ready for the road trip."

Matt Martin and Kyle MacLean were strong on the forecheck to create a turnover behind the net, where Simon Holmstrom picked up MacLean’s pass to the low slot, moved in tight on net and opened the scoring at 13:09 of the opening frame.

Cholowski took a high sticking penalty at 5:17 of the second period and the Devils used their second power play of the game to get even. From the top of the left circle, Jack Hughes ripped off a shot that beat Sorokin through traffic to tie the game at one apiece.

The intensity picked up in the third period and the Isles found their legs, as Cholowski blasted a shot from the left dot to gain a 2-1 advantage for the Isles, which marked the second goal of the season for the defenseman.

After Sorokin made a huge save on Luke Hughes to protect the one goal advantage, the Isles fed off the momentum and Palmieri rushed up ice for Nelson to bury his sixth of the year to take a 3-1 lead.

That put the Isles seemingly in position for a win, but the Devils batted back with two quick goals from Mercer and Noesen in the span of four minutes to force the contest into overtime. Noesen’s game-tying goal deflected off Grant Hutton’s skate and into the net with under a minute to play in the third.

"You know they're going have a push, you know they're gonna try and get back into it," Casey Cizikas said. "That tying goal is tough. He tried to throw a back door. We had it covered, and went off our d man's skate and in. Those things happen but they definitely hurt."

In OT, Hughes beat Sorokin on an uncontested breakaway to complete the comeback and win it for New Jersey.

"Ilya some great saves for us, but in the third we played hard, and we played well," Head Coach Patrick Roy said. "It's too bad that, that we gave up a goal [that hit] our skate and in. That's bad luck. I know it's cliche, but it is what it is."

HOLMSTROM POSTS SOLID PERFORMANCE

With his first two-point night (1G, 1A) of the season, Simon Holmstrom’s increasing confidence is evident on the scoresheet.

Holmstrom netted his second goal of the season by driving to the net and going forehand to backhand to deke Markstrom for the Isles’ first goal of the game.

“He’s playing some good hockey for us and he played at the end of the game with [Nelson] and [Palmieri],” Roy said. “I have a lot of confidence in him.”

Holmstrom contributed to Cholowski’s third period tally by picking up the puck along the half wall to feed Cholowski in the left circle for the Islanders’ second goal of the night. He continued to attack in the third, ripping a shot in the slot area that was stifled by Markstrom in the third.

"He played well, he was strong in the puck," Cizikas said. "He made nice plays and had a lot of good looks, you can see his confidence growing in every game."

ODDS AND ENDS

• Martin has points in two straight games (2A).
• Although the Devils outshot the Isles 33-22, but the teams were even with 11 high danger chances per Natural Stat Trick.
• Isaiah George played a career-high 24:07 TOI in his third NHL game, skating over 23 minutes for the second straight contest.
• Pierre Engvall led the team with four shots.
• Bo Horvat recorded a team-high six hits.

NOTABLE QUOTE

Roy on letting a two-goal lead slip in the third period:

"It's a good team we played against. We managed to take a 3-1 and unfortunately, we could not score an empty netter. We need find a way to close those games."

NEXT GAME

The Islanders kick off a five-game road trip with a matchup against the Edmonton Oilers in Alberta. Puck drop is at 9 p.m. eastern.