Pageau finally gets first goal of season on board

Before Tuesday’s game, Jean-Gabriel Pageau fielded questions about his 20-game goalless drought to start the season — one of the longest of his career.

After the Islanders lost 5-4 to the Devils, he could at least say that was over.

“I’m really not thinking about it right now to be honest,” Pageau said after the game, in which the Islanders collapsed and let the Devils overturn a 4-2 deficit in the final period. “Like I said earlier today, I like when we’re winning and this one stings.”

Pageau has never been much of a scorer, as he jokingly pointed out before the game. But coming into the night, Montreal’s Josh Anderson was the only forward in the league to play over 320 minutes at all strengths without a goal.

So it’s fair to say things were getting a bit frustrating.

“You always think about it,” Pageau said pregame. “Obviously you want that first one to go in and to have that confidence back of that feeling.”

At least briefly, Pageau got that feeling on Tuesday when he batted in Mathew Barzal’s no-look feed at 13:05 of the second period. That ended up being a high-water mark of the evening for the Islanders, as it put them up 4-2.

The game ended as the ninth time this season in which the Islanders

allowed either the gamewinning goal in the third period or allowed the game to be tied in the third and lost in overtime.

“Try to forget as quick as you can, this one,” Pageau said, even though he at least had one good thing to dwell on.

➤ Cal Clutterbuck and Simon Holmstrom both played against the Devils after missing Monday’s practice with illness. Matt Martin came off injured reserve but was made a healthy scratch as Julien Gauthier stayed on the fourth line.

➤ Defenseman Mike Reilly made his Islanders debut after being claimed off waivers on Sunday, skating on the third pair with Grant Hutton as Samuel Bolduc was made a healthy scratch.

“I thought he skated well,” Islanders coach Lane Lambert said of Reilly. “I think he probably wants that first turnover back, but overall I thought he was OK.”