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Jets 3, Islanders 2

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The Winnipeg Jets scored three unanswered goals in a span of a little more than five minutes in the second period Wednesday night and hung on to defeat the reeling New York Islanders 3-2 at Nassau Coliseum.

Defenseman Mark Stuart, left wing Andrew Ladd and right wing Devin Setoguchi all scored as the Jets (12-11-4) won their second in a row to move out of a three-way tie for last place in the Central Division with idle Dallas and Nashville, which played Columbus on Wednesday night.

Goalie Al Montoya had 28 saves for the Jets in his first start in nine days.

Defenseman Andrew MacDonald and center John Tavares scored for the Islanders (8-14-3), who fell farther into the Metropolitan Division cellar with their fourth straight loss -- all in regulation -- and their ninth loss in 13 games this month.

New York goalie Kevin Poulin, who has taken each of the Islanders' last four losses, had 26 saves.

After a quiet first 30 minutes, action picked up in a hurry as the two teams combined for four goals in less than seven minutes late in the second.

The Jets broke the scoreless tie when Stuart fielded a pass from center James Wright, who had won a faceoff in front of the Islanders' net. Stuart's slap shot seemed to surprise Poulin, who got his glove up a moment after the puck sailed over it.

An Islanders turnover led to the second Jets goal just 3:12 later, when center Bryan Little stole the puck at center ice and passed to Ladd, who exchanged the puck with Blake Wheeler before he lured Poulin out of the net and poked a shot into the right corner.

The Jets extended the lead to 3-0 with 3:18 to play when defenseman Keaton Ellerby's shot into a pack of players ticked off the skate of Setoguchi and past a shielded Poulin.

The Islanders have surrendered at least three goals in a period nine times this season.

The Islanders, who squandered a pair of power-play chances in the first, finally got on the board on MacDonald's power play goal with 2:11 left in the period. His slap shot from just in front of the left blue line sailed over the glove of Montoya.

The Islanders peppered Montoya during the first 10 minutes of the third period but didn't cut the gap to 3-2 until Tavares' impressive goal with 5:59 to play. Tavares was wrapped up by Winnipeg defenseman Tobias Enstrom as he skated toward the net, but he still managed to nudge the puck past Montoya.

New York earned another power play less than a minute later but could not tie the game despite multiple chances against Montoya.

NOTES: Both teams are off for Thanksgiving before playing at unusually early times Friday. The Islanders host Detroit at 4 p.m. while the Jets visit Philadelphia for an 11:30 a.m. faceoff. ... The Islanders have played at home the night before Thanksgiving in 15 of the last 19 seasons, two of which had no games in November due to lockouts by the owners. ... The Jets franchise, which moved to Winnipeg from Atlanta prior to the 2010-11 season, played on Thanksgiving Eve in each of the last seven full seasons. ... The Islanders scratched LW Eric Boulton, RW Colin McDonald and D Radek Martinek while the Jets scratched D Adam Pardy and RW Anthony Peluso. All were healthy scratches. ... Jets G Al Montoya played for the Islanders from 2010 to 2012, during which he was 18-16-10.