NHL Blue Jackets 5, Islanders 2
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Brandon Dubinsky had his first three-point game in three seasons and Ryan Johansen had the first three-point game of his career as the Blue Jackets posted a 5-2 win over the New York Islanders on Saturday night before 13,949 in Nationwide Arena.
Dubinsky and Johansen each had a goal and an assist, and R.J. Umberger deflected in the winning goal early in the third period.
Cam Atkinson and James Wisniewski also scored for the Jackets, who avoided their first six-game regulation losing streak since early in the 2006-07 season.
Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky had 24 saves for his first win since Oct. 25.
Frans Nielsen and Thomas Hickey scored for the Islanders, and goaltender Evgeni Nabokov had 24 saves.
The Islanders lost star forward Thomas Vanek early in the game. He skated off the ice and to the dressing room with an apparent hand injury and did not return.
He was sorely missed in a back-and-forth game -- the type that usually favors the Islanders. But they never led in this one.
Umberger's redirection of a Wisniewski power play shot only 27 seconds into the third period put the Jackets ahead 3-2.
Atkinson scored on a rebound putback at 3:24 of the third period to make it 4-2 and Wisniewski fired home an empty-net goal from the other end of the ice in the final minute to seal it.
It matched the Blue Jackets' highest goal output of the season.
The Islanders lost their third straight game and fell to 2-6-1 against the Metropolitan Division.
The Blue Jackets took a 1-0 lead on a power play goal only 6:25 into the first period.
Dubinsky shoveled a pass off his backhand toward the net, and it found its way past Nabokov thanks to a screen set by Umberger. The puck hit the far post behind Nabokov but caromed off his skate and stick and into the net as he rushed to recover.
The Islanders scored in the final minute of the first period to tie it.
Nielsen, who had only eight goals in 48 games last season, scored his ninth of the season on a backhander that was redirected down and through the pads of Boborvsky with 34.7 seconds remaining.
The second period went much the same -- the Blue Jackets taking a lead and the Islanders answering.
Johansen was sprung on a breakaway by Dubinsky and beat Nabokov's glove at 9:27 of the second to make it 2-1.
The Islanders responded with Hickey's goal from the right circle at 13:13, setting up a pivotal third period.
The Blue Jackets scored three third-period goals for the first time all season.
Dubinsky's three-point game was his first since March 20, 2011, when he played for the New York Rangers.
NOTES: Dubinsky's first-period goal gave the Blue Jackets' their first lead in 286 minutes, 6 seconds of playing time. They hadn't held any leads since the first period of an Oct. 27 game against Anaheim. ... With Vanek out of the lineup only one shift into the game, LW Matt Martin joined C John Tavares and RW Kyle Okposo on the Islanders' top line. ... Expecting a rough-and-tumble game, the Islanders dressed D Matt Carkner and fourth-line LW Eric Boulton. ... Blue Jackets D David Savard was a healthy scratch for the third time in four games.
