Holmstrom helps Islanders hold off Blackhawks

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Simon Holmstrom had a goal and two assists, and the New York Islanders held on to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4 at UBS Arena on Thursday.

“My confidence is getting there,” the third-year forward said. “I think I've been playing some solid hockey lately, and I just have to keep it going and keep improving.”

Jean-Gabriel Pageau had three assists, Noah Dobson had a goal and an assist, and Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves for the Islanders (12-12-7), who have won three of four. They led 5-1 midway through the third period before the Blackhawks scored three goals in the final 9:56.

“A win is a win, and we play to win games,” New York coach Patrick Roy said, “but I guess times have changed because in my days, if my team would have done that to me, I would break a stick in that room. I’d be very upset to see my team playing like this in front of me. Ilya is a gentleman. He’s a first-class person, but that was unacceptable. We didn't compete. We didn't battle in front of the net in the last eight minutes. That's unacceptable. We talked about it this morning, to be stronger. Our goalie deserves more respect than this.”

Connor Bedard had a goal and two assists, and Alex Vlasic had two assists for the Blackhawks (9-18-2), who have lost six of seven and are 1-2-0 under interim coach Anders Sorensen. Arvid Soderblom allowed five goals on 19 shots before being replaced by Drew Commesso, who made two saves in his NHL debut.

“Tough stretch there, right?” Sorensen said. “A couple of quick ones go in. ... Even in the second there, I didn’t like how we handled the last 10 minutes there. The first half [of the second], I thought we were good there, but they tiled the ice once they got their first one there. … I thought we did some good things, but, again, the mental lapses that we had there in the second and in the third, that’s something we have to clean up.”

Bedard gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead on the power play at 16:47 of the first period after an Islanders defensive-zone turnover. Ryan Donato collected the puck and fed Bedard, who toe-dragged around two Islanders before putting a shot past Sorokin’s glove from the left hash marks.

Sorokin got his stick on a Craig Smith wrist shot on a breakaway at 3:00 of the second period to keep it a one-goal game.

The Islanders then scored five consecutive goals.

Dennis Cholowski tied it 1-1 at 6:59, three seconds after a New York power play expired. Holmstrom fed Cholowski for a one-timer from the point that beat Soderblom to the glove side.

Holmstrom gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 14:06. He received the puck from Ryan Pulock in the right corner, carried it to the point and scored with a wrist shot that beat a screened Soderblom.

Dobson extended the lead to 3-1 at 5:39 of the third. After Brock Nelson fed Dobson with a quick backhand pass along the boards in the neutral zone, the defenseman scored through the five-hole on the rush from the left face-off dot.

Bo Horvat made it 4-1 at 6:36, scoring from a sharp angle after Holmstrom fed him in the left circle.

Maxim Tsyplakov pushed it to 5-1 at 7:58. Kyle Palmieri tried to feed him in the low slot, but the puck went off Donato’s stick before Tsyplakov swatted it over Soderblom’s blocker.

“We were in the game until the 10-minute mark of the second,” Bertuzzi said. “We started getting away from things, and that carried on into the third. You can’t let that happen.”

Soderblom was pulled following the goal.

TJ Brodie cut it to 5-2 at 11:04 with a slap shot from inside the blue line.

Bertuzzi made it 5-3 at 18:50 with a one-timer at the right post off a pass from Taylor Hall, then scored at 19:50 to make it a 5-4 final. With Commesso pulled for the extra attacker, Vlasic’s point shot deflected in off Bertuzzi’s skate.

“We need to be a lot better at home in our building,” Islanders forward Matt Martin said. “That used to be our bread and butter. You get a 5-1 lead. We played really well in the second up until the fifth goal. Then [there were] breakdowns, guys not staying focused. Sorokin deserved better. He played a great game for us. He deserves us finishing that game strong and doing the right things out there.”

NOTES: Holmstrom’s three points are a career high. … Pageau had his first three-assist game with New York, tying his career high set March 12, 2016, as a member of the Ottawa Senators. … Bedard has five points (one goal, four assists) during a three-game point streak. … Chicago was 3-for-3 on the penalty kill, making it 18-for-18 over its past seven games. ... Horvat did not take a shift in the final 9:49. He left with 5:54 to play in the second after getting slashed but returned before the end of the period.