Trailing 2-1 entering the third, the Islanders scored three consecutive goals to take a 4-2 lead. John Tavares got it started 22 seconds in when he beat former teammate Al Montoya on a rush. He took a Kyle Okposo feed and broke in and ripped one top shelf for his first to tie it.

Less than five minutes later, another great read by Tavares led to sidekick Matt Moulson scoring his third. Travis Hamonic passed for Tavares, who skated to the blueline and fired for Moulson, who redirected the puck past Montoya for a 3-2 lead. Moulson is basically the Islander version of Adam Graves. A gritty overachiever who’s always parked in front. He and Tavares have become a dynamic duo on Long Island.

A bit later, the Islanders took advantage on the power play. With Chris Thorburn in the box for a trip, Tavares helped set up captain Mark Streit for a power play goal. He worked the puck to Frans Nielsen who centered for Streit, who blasted a one-timer through a Moulson screen to make it 4-2 with 10:07 left.

Everything looked great for them until David Ullstrom took a penalty. Ullstrom, who scored earlier- took a hooking minor handing the Jets an opportunity to get back in the game. At that point, one of the loudest buildings was pretty quiet. However, all it took was a rocket from Dustin Byfuglien to change that. The ex-Hawk stepped into a Blake Wheeler feed and ripped his first off the post and in.

Trailing by one, it didn’t take long for the Jets to tie it. Urged on by the crowd, they pressed for the equalizer. Finally, Alex Burmistrov snapped a wrist shot that went off Evgeni Nabokov’s glove tying it 1:05 later. He must’ve surprised him because it was definitely stoppable. At that point, you wondered if the Islanders would even get a point. They were at least able to get to overtime.

The four-on-four was classic fire wagon hockey. Both teams went for it. An Islander over skated the puck in the Winnipeg end, leading to the winner. Ron Hainsey quickly transitioned to Olli Jokinen, who came in two-on-one with Evander Kane. Jokinen took a shot from the left circle that Nabokov got a piece of. The rebound bounced to Kane, whose first try didn’t go in. But his second attempt just crossed the goal line for the deciding marker at 1:59 of OT.

Video review confirmed the call on the ice, allowing the goal to stand. It was a crushing loss for the Islanders. But one they can learn from.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Evander Kane, WPG (OT winner, assist-emerging power forward)
2nd Star-Matt Moulson, NYI (goal, assist-the energizer)
1st Star-John Tavares, NYI (1st of season, 2 assists-dominant)