Two-goal lead doesn’t stand up
Islanders come back for 4-3 OT victory
The skinny: Thomas Hickey scored his first goal in the NHL at 3:12 of overtime to give the New York Islanders a come-from-behind 4-3 win over the Canadiens on Thursday night at the Bell Centre. The Canadiens had 2-0 and 3-1 leads and dominated the shots for most of the game, but they couldn’t put away the Islanders. A goal by Frans Nielsen at 9:51 of the third period pulled the Islanders even at 3-3. MAX-imum power: Max Pacioretty scored a powerplay goal at 11:02 of the first period to end the Canadiens’ 1-for-23 drought with the extra man. Pacioretty scored his first goal of the season with a knuckleball against Carolina on Monday, and now has at least one goal in each of the last three games. He scored again in the second period and he has a fourgame point streak with four goals and three assists. The Canadiens’ power play went 1-for-4. Fast start: Each team had an excellent scoring chance in the first minute but it was the Canadiens who set the tone for the game when Travis Moen beat Evgeni Nabokov after Travis Hamonic lost the puck to Colby Armstrong behind the Islanders’ net. John Tavares had a breakaway for the first shot of the game but Carey Price made the stop at the 29-second mark. The Canadiens outshot the Islanders 14-3 in the first period. Powered by Moulson: The Islanders scored their first two goals on the power play with Matt Moulson notching his eighth and ninth goals of the season. The Islanders went 2-for-3 with the extra man. What it means: The one point the Canadiens received allowed them to maintain their hold on first place in the Eastern Conference and the Northeast Division. They are tied with New Jersey in the conference race with 24 points. But they had their lead over the second-place Boston Bruins trimmed to two points in the Northeast Division and the Bruins have three games in hand. What’s next: The Canadiens wrap up New York week when the Rangers visit the Bell Centre on Saturday ( 7 p.m., CBC, RDS, TSN-690 Radio). The Canadiens beat the Rangers 3-1 on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.