NEW YORK — Bo Horvat netted a pair of goals during a productive second period for the Islanders, helping them secure a 3-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night.

Simon Holmstrom also contributed to the scoreline, while Mathew Barzal recorded two assists, marking the Islanders’ second consecutive win and their fifth in the last seven games. Goaltender Ilya Sorokin was solid between the pipes, making 25 saves throughout the match.

For Columbus, Kent Johnson found the back of the net, and Elvis Merzlikins stopped 22 shots. However, this loss snapped the Blue Jackets’ seven-game point streak, which included six wins and one overtime loss.

New York’s scoring surge came in a remarkable five-minute, four-second stretch of the second period, allowing them to pull ahead 3-1 and ultimately hold on for the victory. Barzal assisted Horvat, who tied the game just 43 seconds into the period. Holmstrom then scored a short-handed goal at 2:57 after a turnover by Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski. Horvat capped the scoring spree with a power-play goal soon after.

Columbus got on the board first with a power-play goal from Johnson, who found the net at 4:52 of the opening period.

Takeaways:

For the Blue Jackets, the night was marked by 15 giveaways, leading to struggles in their own zone. They found it challenging to respond to the Islanders’ forechecking and could not establish a consistent offensive flow.

On the other side, the Islanders recently showcased a strong special teams performance, as they last scored both a short-handed and a power-play goal in the same period back on December 19, 2023, against Edmonton. In that game, Horvat also scored on the power play, with Holmstrom contributing a short-handed goal.

Key Moment:

The turning point came when the Islanders’ penalty kill successfully defended against a goal during Casey Cizikas’s first of two offensive-zone penalties. Holmstrom’s short-handed goal gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead and shifted momentum in their favor.

Key Stat:

With this victory, the Islanders improved their record to 18-4-4 when scoring three or more goals in a game, including shootout winners.

Looking ahead, the Blue Jackets will head to Toronto on Wednesday, while the Islanders will be welcoming the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday.