Barzal has 3 points, Islanders end Avalanche’s 17-game point streak

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Mathew Barzal had a goal and two assists, and the New York Islanders ended the Colorado Avalanche’s 17-game point streak with a 6-3 victory at UBS Arena on Thursday.

Anders Lee and Bo Horvat each had a goal and an assist, and Ryan Pulock had two assists for the Islanders (15-10-3), who won their second straight to close out a seven-game homestand (3-3-1). Ilya Sorokin made 35 saves.

“The focus was to play against the best team in the NHL, and they had only one (regulation) loss,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “As I said to them before the game, I believe that if there's a team that could surprise them, it's us, and the way we've been playing, we're playing really good hockey lately, and I think in that homestand, we finished 3-3-1. I felt like we could have been easily above .500, and our guys deserve a lot of credit.”

Martin Necas had a goal and an assist, and Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen scored for the Avalanche (19-2-6), who went 14-0-3 during their point streak and lost in regulation for the first time since Oct. 18, a 3-2 defeat at the Boston Bruins. Mackenzie Blackwood made 36 saves.

“I think, at times, we did some great things. It was just few and far between,” Colorado defenseman Cale Makar said. “Everything they had was going on net tonight and lucky bounces, unfortunately. That’s the way some games are going to go. We got to find ways to mitigate that and win the netfront area. Just at times tonight we really didn’t do that.”

Brock Nelson, who played his first 12 seasons with the Islanders, had an assist in his return to UBS Arena after being traded to the Avalanche by New York on March 6.

Kyle MacLean gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 5:56 of the first period. Following a scrum for a loose puck in the crease, MacLean was able to eventually lift the puck over a sprawled Blackwood.

The Avalanche challenged for goaltender interference, but the call on the ice stood following a video review.

Lee extended it to 2-0 at 18:20. Barzal found Lee inside the right circle for a wrist shot that beat Blackwood high glove side.

Horvat made it 3-0 at 6:58 of the second period on a rebound in the low slot off Matthew Schaefer's shot.

Adam Pelech then pushed it to 4-0 at 7:59 with a wrist shot from inside the left circle that beat Blackwood off his glove and in.

“We had some, like, strange reads,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “It cost us scoring chances and gains. We got outbattled in our netfront, too many rebounds, but they scored two goals and rebounds, some of them multiple rebounds, before it went in. And that can't happen. We got to be harder at the netfront, and we weren't tonight.

“They were competitive there, give them credit. I thought they played a really good game. I thought we fought and tried to stay with it. Some guys didn't have great nights and made some strange reads and made some mistakes that cost us, but more importantly, like that battle at the netfront, it has to be higher, quicker.”

Colorado scored two goals in a 1:25 span in the second to cut it to 4-2. Nichushkin deflected Sam Malinski's point shot at 8:39 before Necas’ cross-crease pass deflected off Travis Mitchell and in at 10:04.

Barzal responded on the power play to make it 5-2 at 18:46. He dangled to the low slot before he beat Blackwood blocker side with a backhand.

“The best team in the League came in here, and I thought we just hung in there the whole game and buried our chances,” Barzal said. “That’s something that probably cost us a game or two in the last week or so, but we buried tonight, and it's a huge win for our group.”

Lehkonen cut it to 5-3 at 1:27 of the third period. Makar skated down the slot before he fed Lehkonen for the one-timer from inside the right face-off circle.

Casey Cizikas scored an empty-net goal at 18:45 for the 6-3 final.

“We knew that this game wasn't over and that we had to put a push on,” Lee said. “So, we couldn't let up at all. I mean, they put a couple shifts together a lot of times in this game and put two goals in. We didn't start the third the way we wanted, but I thought we settled right back in and got right back to our game, which is a sign of maturity a little bit from our group and not letting things get to us.”

NOTES: Islanders forward Jonathan Drouin, who was a late scratch after warmups, is day to day with a lower-body injury but will travel on New York’s upcoming two-game road trip in Florida. … Lee scored his 295th career goal, tying Nelson for fifth-most in franchise history. … Schaefer had an assist to become the second-fastest 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history to reach 20 career points (28 games), behind Phil Housley (25 games on Dec. 8, 1982). … Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon’s four-game multipoint streak came to an end (five goals, four assists).