Islanders rally from 3 down, top Blues in OT in Schenn’s return

ST. LOUIS -- Mathew Barzal scored at 2:11 of overtime and had two assists for the New York Islanders, who rallied from a three-goal deficit for a 4-3 win against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Tuesday.

Barzal, off a pass from Brayden Schenn, took the puck into the zone before cutting to the middle past Blues forward Jordan Kyrou and beating Joel Hofer high glove side.

“That was a phenomenal goal,” New York coach Patrick Roy said. “What a move he put out there and then the shot, the quality of the shot right in the corner. A very good shot.”

It was Schenn’s first game against the Blues since being traded to New York on Friday. He played nine seasons in St. Louis, won the Stanley Cup in 2019 and was the Blues’ captain since 2023-24. Schenn received a loud ovation and video tribute at the first timeout in the first period.

“It was a pretty emotional night,” Schenn said. “I can usually hold it together pretty good, I’m not going to lie, but driving into the rink today got me a little bit. The fans have been so good to me, the organization has been so good. It’s been a long time since I’ve played a home return game, a homecoming game, whatever you want to call it.

“This one just happened so fast with a lot of emotions. The one thing I will say about this group, this team, is they make you feel welcomed and they definitely make you feel a part of it right away.”

Calum Ritchie had a goal and an assist, and Bo Horvat also scored for the Islanders (37-23-5), who have won seven of nine (7-2-0), including the final two of their four-game road trip. Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves.

“It was an important game for us and it was an important win,” Roy said. “We knew we had six games on the road out of seven. Winning four out of those six is pretty good.”

Jimmy Snuggerud had a goal and two assists for his third straight multipoint game, Hofer made 46 saves, and Robert Thomas had two assists to extend his personal point streak to seven games (five goals, seven assists) for the Blues (25-29-10), who had their four-game winning streak end.

“That’s hockey, you (get) ups and downs,” Snuggerud said. “Obviously stinks. So close to being up 4-0 and then it gets called back. Then an unlucky high stick, it happens. And they converted on their opportunity.”

Jean-Gabriel Pageau cut it to 3-1 at 17:50 of the second period, scoring from the bottom of the left circle when Matthew Schaefer’s shot caromed to the New York forward with Hofer down on the play.

“I thought that goal by ‘Pager’ got us going, 3-1 heading into the third period,” Schenn said. “That’s a huge goal for us that gets us going in the right direction.”

The Islanders scored two third-period goals to tie the game following a double minor by Pavel Buchnevich, who high-sticked Ritchie.

Ritchie made it 3-2 at 5:52 after Blues forward Jack Finley inadvertently put the puck into his own net, and Horvat's one-timer from the slot tied it 3-3 a minute later.

“The power play played a huge role in that comeback,” Roy said. “Those two goals were key in that game. … We want to move the puck quicker, and that’s what I thought we did. I thought we were moving quicker and made it a lot more difficult to defend and give them a chance to set up.”

Philip Broberg made it 1-0 on St. Louis’ first shot at 4:06 of the first period when he converted at the left side of the net off a 4-on-1, tapping in Snuggerud’s pass to the back post.

Dylan Holloway extended it to 2-0 at 9:10 of the second after he came off the bench and took Cam Fowler’s drop pass, stick-handled to the right hash marks and beat Sorokin high to the glove side with a quick snap shot.

Snuggerud pushed it to 3-0 at 10:37, finishing off a cross-ice pass from Thomas.

The Blues thought they made it 4-0 when Thomas was on the doorstep to put a rebound in, but the Islanders successfully challenged for offside after video review determined Blues defenseman Logan Mailloux preceded the puck into the zone prior to the goal.

“That’s hockey. It would have been nice to go up 4-0,” Hofer said. “It happens, but I thought we closed the period out well and got some chances. Definitely [stinks] to blow a lead like that though.”

The Islanders felt like the call kept them in the game.

“Right from the start, I thought we were the better team, to be honest with you,” Barzal said. “Check the shots out. I thought we pushed the pace. Obviously it’s easier when you’re playing down, but I thought we had high commitment, especially in the O-zone. We made some great plays, their goalie made some great saves early.

“And then that’s hockey, sometimes you can get a bounce that can turn a game and obviously that offside call was massive and kept us in the hockey game. Just found a way. We drew some blood on the high stick and get four minutes, finally get the power play clicking. Just a massive win.”

It also kept Sorokin in the game, because if the goal would have counted, Roy was prepared to lift his starter for David Rittich.

“It all started with a great call by our video guys,” Roy said. “That offside, it was nice for them to pick it up. I thought that was a key moment in the game obviously (to keep it) at three goals.

NOTES: The Islanders improved to 10-0 in games decided in overtime. … New York’s 49 shots on goal were a season high, surpassing its 44 in a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Nov. 26. … Schaefer recorded his 27th assist to past Doug Bodger for third most by an 18-year-old defenseman, behind Phil Housley (40) and Rasmus Dahlin (35). … The loss was the third of the season for the Blues in which they led in a game by three goals. The others were 6-4 to the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 26 (led 4-0) and 6-5 to the Nashville Predators on Feb. 2 (led 5-1). … Snuggerud has three goals and four assists during his point streak. St. Louis defenseman Theo Lindstein, the No. 29 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, made his NHL debut and had an assist in 13:39 of ice time.