NEW YORK (AP) — Bo Horvat scored his second goal of the game 3:37 into overtime to lift the New York Islanders past the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Thursday night for their third straight victory.
Ilya Sorokin made 38 saves and had his first two assists of the season, the first Islanders goalie with multiple points in a game. Anthony Duclair and Simon Holmstrom also had goals for the Islanders, who moved within two points of the Canadiens for the second wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
New York is 7-3-1 in its last 11 since a four-game skid and has won three in a row for the first time since a 7-0 run spanning Jan. 18 to Feb. 1.
Brendan Gallagher tied it for Montreal with 14:16 left after the Canadiens trailed 3-1 early in the third period. Patrik Laine had a goal and an assist and Joshua Roy also scored for the Canadiens. Sam Montembeault made 21 saves.
Takeaways
Canadiens: Despite the loss, Montreal has points in 11 of its last 12 games, going 8-1-3 in that span.
Islanders: Duclair's goal at 5:37 of the first period gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead and snapped New York's 0-for-18 power-play drought.
Key moment
With the game tied at 3 in OT, Horvat capped a 2-on-1 break by driving up the left wing and beating Montembeault high on the short side. That came after Montrealsa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Lane Hutson was checked off the puck on a rush the other way.Â
Key stat
The Islanders went 1 for 2 on goal challenges. Coach Patrick Roy was successful in challenging Nick Suzukisa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ goal that would have put Montreal up 2-1 early in the second period when a replay review showed he was just inches offside entering the Isles zone.
Lainesa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ power-play goal, cutting the Islanders' lead to 3-2 at the 4:32 mark of the third period, was allowed to stand after being challenged for goalie interference.
Up next
Canadiens: Host the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night.Â
Islanders: Host the Calgray Flames on Saturday.
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