Islanders lose to Blue Jackets in OT, add to East wild card lead

COLUMBUS -- The New York Islanders increased their lead in the Eastern Conference wild card race with a 5-4 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Friday.

The Islanders (37-27-9) rallied to tie the game with two goals in the third period and moved three points ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have one game in hand, for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the East.
Brock Nelson scored twice, and Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves for New York, which had a three-game winning streak end and hosts the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
"We didn't really come ready to play," Islanders forward Kyle Palmieri said. "We managed to get a point out of it. I think we left one on the table there. We know the importance of every game down the stretch here. We were sloppy. We weren't moving our feet, weren't able to generate any speed coming out of our zone or through the neutral zone."
Boone Jenner tipped a shot by Adam Boqvist 40 seconds into overtime while on the power play to win it. Islanders captain Anders Lee was penalized for high-sticking at 19:31 of the third.
Michael Hutchinson made 34 saves for his first win since April 4, 2021, as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Kent Johnson scored a lacrosse-style goal for the Blue Jackets (23-41-7), who play at the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
"[The Islanders] are in a dogfight for points and the importance of this game for them, it forces you to get engaged," Columbus coach Brad Larsen said. "You can't dip your toe in. I thought we had a real good start to this game. I really loved how we started."

Palmieri cut it to 4-3 for New York at 3:34 of the third, his third goal in four games, and Nelson tied it 4-4 with a power-play goal at 8:00.
"It took us too long to get to our game, but I do give our guys credit," Islanders coach Lane Lambert said. "They found a way to scratch and claw, and then there's just an unfortunate penalty and we are going to overtime. Considering we're going in the third period down two, it's a big point to get."
Zach Parise gave New York a 1-0 lead at 13:37 of the first period to extend his goal streak to a season-high four games (four goals) with his 20th of the season.
Johnny Gaudreau tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 4:58 of the second period.
Nelson put the Islanders ahead 2-1 at 5:30 before Liam Foudy tied it 2-2 at 8:59. Foudy, who did not score in his first 62 NHL games, has six goals in the past 16 games.
Johnson, a rookie from the University of Michigan,
scored a lacrosse-style goal
at 17:06 for a 3-2 lead, skating behind the net and flipping the puck over Sorokin's right shoulder.
Johnson started near the blue line but wasn't thinking highlight goal.
"Not really. I was looking for a shooting lane," he said. "I didn't have it there, so I went through my legs. Once I skated around the net, I kind of knew."

He threw his arms in the air after scoring.
"It's always nice to score, but especially that way," Johnson said. "I was really happy. I don't know if I was relieved. I was really pumped about the goal."
The goal is known as 'The Michigan' in honor of Mike Legg, who scored the first one playing for Michigan against Minnesota exactly 27 years earlier, on March 24, 1996.
Eric Robinson extended the lead to 4-2 at 17:46. Hunter McKown, in his NHL debut, had an assist.
NOTES: The Blue Jackets lost forward Mathieu Olivier to an upper-body injury in the first period and defenseman Erik Gudbranson to an upper-body injury in the third. Larsen said neither would play Saturday. … Nelson has five goals in four games against the Blue Jackets this season. ... Parise reached 20 goals for the 11th time in the NHL and first for the Islanders. His father, J.P. Parise, reached 20 twice (1975-76, 1976-77). They are the fourth father-son duo to accomplish it with one NHL franchise, following Ken Hodge and Ken Hodge Jr. (Boston Bruins), Peter and Paul Stastny (Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche) and Greg and Ryan Malone (Penguins). … McKown had one assist, two shots and won seven of nine face-offs in 11:53 in his NHL debut. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract Monday after completing his junior season at Colorado College. … Columbus forward Sean Kuraly had one shot in 13:51 after missing nine games with a left oblique strain. … The Blue Jackets announced Friday that forward Patrik Laine would miss 2-4 weeks with a triceps strain.