Nelson scores four goals, Islanders defeat Canadiens

MONTREAL -- Brock Nelson scored four goals for the New York Islanders in a 6-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Thursday.

Ilya Sorokin made 36 saves and came within 4:40 of his third shutout in four games for New York (4-2-2), which extended its point streak to six games (4-0-2). Anthony Beauvillier had three assists.
"I thought our line played well and it's a byproduct of a couple of nice plays," Nelson said. "[Kyle Palmieri] had an unbelievable backhand touch on the first one. A couple of good plays from 'Beau' to get a few, so it's always nice to have a great night."
Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens (3-9-0), who have lost three of four. Jake Allen allowed five goals on 25 shots and was pulled after the second period. Sam Montembeault made 10 saves in the third.

It was the seventh time in 12 games Montreal has allowed at least four goals.
"It's frustrating for sure, but I won't come here and give a show, like, I won't be making headlines, being on YouTube for 20 years," Canadiens coach Dominique Ducharme said. "What I have to say, I'll be telling my guys."
Nelson gave New York a 1-0 lead with his first goal of the game at 4:14 of the first period.
Oliver Wahlstrom made it 2-0 when he scored for a second straight game at 3:31 of the second. It was his fifth goal of the season.

Nelson scored his second of the game on a rebound of Zdeno Chara's shot from the right point at 12:25 to make it 3-0.
Sorokin, who has started the first eight games for the Islanders this season, preserved the three-goal lead when he stretched out his left pad to deny Christian Dvorak on a breakaway at 15:03 of the second period.
"He makes some saves that you don't think he's going to make and he gives us a chance to counter and go the other way," New York coach Barry Trotz said. "He gives us a chance every night."
Nelson completed the hat trick at 15:23 when he drove the left side on a 2-on-1 and scored with a backhand on a rebound of Beauvillier's shot to make it 4-0.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau made it 5-0 with his first of the season at 18:08 when he scored on a wrist shot from the edge of the crease on a pass from Zach Parise with a delayed penalty called.

Suzuki scored shorthanded at 15:20 to make it 5-1, and Tyler Toffoli cut it to 5-2 with a 5-on-3 power-play goal at 17:04.
Montreal had 15 shots on goal in the third period.
"We had a good start, we did the right things," Beauvillier said. "They had a push late in the third period, but our goalie was really good for us. We were hard to play against, which is really our identity. We took care of all the details that have brought us success in recent games. It was really a game in our image."
Nelson scored his fourth of the game into an empty net with 19 seconds remaining for the 6-2 final.
"We've just got to find a way," Canadiens forward Jake Evans said. "I think there's some mental lapses, just some tougher plays, tougher reads that are costing us, and it seems like everything's going in the back of the net."
NOTES: Nelson is the first Islanders player to score four goals in a game since Kyle Okposo on Jan. 16, 2015. It was his third NHL hat trick and first since Feb. 10, 2018. … Montreal played without Jonathan Drouin; the forward is day to day after being struck in the head by a shot in the first period of a 3-0 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. … Chara played his 1,616th NHL game and passed Larry Murphy for third on the all-time list for games played by a defenseman. Chara had an assist, his first point since rejoining the Islanders. … Parise had two assists, his first points with New York. … Their four goals in the second were the most the Islanders have scored in a period this season.