Barzal, Islanders recover to top Devils in OT, hand them 1st home loss

NEWARK, N.J. -- Mathew Barzal scored 1:17 into overtime to give the New York Islanders a 3-2 victory against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Monday.

Jonathan Drouin fed Barzal down the slot from the left boards before Barzal skated in on Jacob Markstrom and scored with a snap shot past the glove.

"[Drouin] just made a great pass, just read [it] right along (Devils defenseman) Luke Hughes' feet," Barzal said. "Just kind of found some space in tight and tried to make something quick."

Simon Nemec tied it 2-2 for the Devils with five seconds remaining in the third period. He scored on a one-timer through traffic from the point with Markstrom pulled for an extra attacker.

Kyle Palmieri and Bo Horvat each had a goal and an assist, and Ilya Sorokin made 33 saves for the Islanders (8-6-2), who have won the first two of a seven-game road trip. They won 5-0 at the New York Rangers on Saturday.

"I thought we battled hard all night," Horvat said. "I thought Sorokin was unbelievable for us in net again. He made some phenomenal saves, especially towards the end of the game when they kind of made a little bit of a push. It was a fun hockey game to be a part of and it definitely feels good to be on the other side."

Timo Meier had a goal and an assist, Jesper Bratt had two assists, and Markstrom made 21 saves for the Devils (11-4-1), who lost for the first time in eight home games this season (7-0-1).

"That's not the style of game we want to play," Meier said. "It might be fun for the fans, but we’ve got to maintain more time in their zone. We didn't do a good enough job; it was like a pingpong match. We'd get in the offensive zone, get a shot from the outside, and it went the other way.

"We have to go on the forecheck, hold on to the puck, protect it, create and wear them down defensively so they have to defend tired. We didn't do a good enough job of that."

Palmieri had given the Islanders a 2-1 lead on the power play at 17:07 of the third, scoring on a rebound in the crease after Markstrom stopped Matthew Schaefer’s point shot.

"I think that's going to be the team we're going to be this year," Barzal said. "Games are not going to be pretty and those are ones you’ve got to find a way to win. That's how teams get into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I think the overall effort was encouraging."

Meier put the Devils ahead 1-0 on the man-advantage at 2:12 of the first period, scoring on a snap shot from the slot. After the Islanders were called for too many men just 38 seconds into the game, New Jersey maintained possession in the New York zone for 1:12 before Meier scored his fifth of the season.

"We didn't do enough to generate high-quality scoring chances," New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. "I thought we played a good game, defended well, but we made more mistakes than we scored goals. Big mistakes on all three goals and when the game is that tight, you can't make those mistakes."

Horvat responded to tie it 1-1 on a wrist shot from the slot at 6:55 of the second period after collecting Palmieri’s pass from the right boards following a New Jersey turnover in the neutral zone.

"I thought our guys were unbelievable on the penalty kill," New York coach Patrick Roy said. "I mean, the blocked shots (19 by the Islanders for the game) and when it wasn't there, Ilya was phenomenal. He made some unbelievable saves for us, kept us in that game late, and gave us a chance."

Sorokin made 12 saves in the third. He made nine saves on 10 shots on the penalty kill for the game.

"Every win is exciting," Sorokin said. "Today was a hard game. We spent a lot of time in our zone against a really good team. It's a really, really good win."

NOTES: Sorokin earned his 130th win to tie Rick DiPietro for the third most in Islanders history, behind Billy Smith (304) and Glenn Resch (157). ... Horvat has nine points (six goals, three assists) in a six-game point streak and five goals in his past four games. He also has 11 goals in his past 11 games against the Devils dating to March 15, 2022. ... Schaefer, 18, got his seventh assist in 16 games, passing Eric Brewer (six assists in 63 games) for the third most by a teenage defenseman in New York history. He trails Bryan Berard (32 assists in 64 games) and Gerald Diduck (eight assists in 65 games). ... Devils forward Zack MacEwen had two shots on goal and four hits in 9:35 of ice time after missing the previous 13 games with an upper-body injury.