Islanders rally past Blue Jackets in return to Nassau Coliseum

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Casey Cizikas broke a tie at 7:09 of the third period, and the New York Islanders rallied to win their first regular-season game at Nassau Coliseum in more than three years, 3-2 against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.

Anders Lee and Anthony Beauvillier scored, and Scott Mayfield and Jordan Eberle each had two assists for New York (13-9-3). Thomas Greiss made 28 saves.
It was the Islanders' first regular-season game at the Coliseum since April 11, 2015; they moved to Barclays Center at the start of the 2015-16 season. They will play 20 more games this season at the Coliseum, their home from 1972-2015.
WATCH: [All Blue Jackets vs. Islanders highlights]
"It was crazy," Cizikas said. "Driving home from practice this morning, seeing people in the parking lot at 11:30 in the morning and then stepping on the ice for warmups, that was a different atmosphere. That was crazy and that was something that we built off."

Markus Hannikainen and Pierre-Luc Dubois scored for Columbus (15-9-2). Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves.
"I don't [care] about the home team and how they feel," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "I'm a little concerned about the mistakes we made."
Hannikainen gave the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead at 6:46 of the second period when he scored on a rebound in front after Greiss made an initial save on Seth Jones' slap shot from the right point.
Dubois made it 2-0 at 8:33 when Cam Atkinson stripped Tom Kuhnhackl behind the Islanders net and fed Dubois at the left face-off circle, where he sent a wrist shot through traffic past Greiss for his 13th goal of the season.
"Even though we were up 2-0, they were playing really good hockey," Dubois said. "That's just how it goes sometimes. You have a couple of good shifts and you're up 2-0, but it came down to the third period."
Lee made it 2-1 at 12:00 of the second period when he redirected Eberle's shot over the goal line. The goal was initially waved off but was awarded after video review showed Lee did not bat the puck into the net with his hand.
Beauvillier tied it 2-2 at 15:24 of the second when he skated down the right wing on a 2-on-1 with Mathew Barzal and put his own rebound past Bobrovsky for his seventh goal of the season.
"That was a lot of fun," Beauvillier said. "It felt like home. A lot of history in this building, and everyone is excited.
"We answered back after they scored their second goal and it gave us a little bit of juice. We just played north and we played behind their D and we found the back of the net. It was a big team win for us tonight."
Cizikas gave the Islanders their first lead of the game during a 4-on-4 situation when Ryan Pulock fed him from behind the net for a one-timer to make it 3-2.
"I had a lot of emotions running through my body," Cizikas said. "I think I was more tired from screaming than I was for the actual shift."
Greiss preserved the lead with 4:21 remaining when he made a save against Dubois and then stretched across his crease to deny a backhand attempt from Atkinson on the doorstep.

They said it

"We just didn't give ourselves enough chances to forecheck in the second period. We got stubborn. We turned into individuals trying to beat people through the neutral zone. But throw all that away; we had some really good minutes, it's 2-2 going into the third. We talked about just cleaning the slate, and then we absolutely blow a simple coverage 4-on-4. Those little mistakes cost us." -- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella
"It was fantastic. Look at how much fun they're having. They're having fun before the game, they don't want to leave. It was loud. It was a fantastic atmosphere." -- Islanders coach Barry Trotz

Need to know

Atkinson extended his point streak to 10 games and got his 300th NHL assist. He has 16 points (10 goals, six assists) during the streak. … Blue Jackets defenseman Ryan Murray left the game in the third period because of an undisclosed injury. Tortorella did not have an update after the game. … The Islanders are 10-2-0 against the Metropolitan Division. … Lee is tied with Brock Nelson for the Islanders lead with nine goals. … It was Eberle's third multipoint game of the season.

What's next

Blue Jackets: Host the Calgary Flames on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, SNW, NHL.TV)
Islanders: Host the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday (Barclays Center; 7 p.m. ET; MSG+, TSN3, NHL.TV)