Islanders score 4 in third, rally to beat Avalanche
NEW YORK — Scott Mayfield and Anthony Beauvillier scored 17 seconds apart midway through the third period and the New York Islanders rallied from three goals down and beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-4 on Saturday night.
Brock Nelson, Zach Parise and Noah Dobson also scored for the Islanders, who scored five straight goals after falling behind 3-0 midway through the second period. Semyon Varlamov finished with 33 saves to help New York win its third straight.
"There was plenty of time left. That was our message,'' Islanders coach Lane Lambert said. "I'm glad to see them get rewarded. It was a good character builder for us."
Evan Rodrigues had two goals and an assist, Mikko Rantanen added a goal and an assist, and Alex Newhook also scored for the defending champion Avalanche. Alexandar Georgiev had 39 saves.
Dobson began the Islanders' comeback with his third of the season at 9:53 of the second to make it 3-1.
Georgiev made a sharp glove save on Wahlstrom with 7:17 left in the second to maintain the two-goal margin.
"He gave us a chance to win,'' Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said of his goalie. "There are no excuses tonight."
Parise got New York within one at 3:35 of the third with his third, jamming the puck past Georgiev in the crease.
Mayfield tied it with his third with 9:21 left in the period after an Islanders power-play expired but New York kept the puck in the Colorado zone. Beauvillier got his third on a shot from the left side with 9:04 remaining that beat Georgiev and sent the UBS Arena crowd into a frenzy.
"It looked like our brains turned off for a little bit,'' Bednar added. "They turned up the dial in a number of different ways. That go-ahead goal was the killer."
The comeback victory came a night after the Islanders won 6-2 at Carolina. New York has a three-game trip ahead to Chicago, St. Louis and Detroit.
"There's no panic in our game,'' Mayfield said. "It's nice to put these two together."
Nelson had an empty-netter with 1:21 to go before Newhook pulled the Avalanche within one with 30 seconds left.
After a scoreless first period, Rodrigues got the Avalanche on the scoreboard with a power-play goal 46 seconds into the second. Rantanen made it 2-0 as he beat Varlamov on a breakaway after leaving the penalty box for his fourth at 7:28. Rodrigues' second of the night made it a three-goal lead 35 seconds later.
But the Islanders bombarded Georgiev with 20 shots in the third, scoring three times before the empty-netter.
"I wish I had a couple (of goals) back," Georgiev said. "They scored a couple I wish I had played better on."
STATS
The Islanders have outscored opponents 17-7 in third periods this season. ... Islanders defensemen now have nine goals and 13 assists through nine games. ... Rodrigues' first goal was the first the Islanders allowed on a power play this season. The Islanders had not allowed a man-advantage goal in their first eight games — an NHL record. With records going back to 1977-78, Minnesota held the previous mark of seven in 2008-09 and Detroit equaled it six years later.
SIDELINED
Avalanche leading scorer Valeri Nichushkin did not play for the second-straight night because of a lower-body injury. Nichushkin has seven goals and five assists in seven games.
MILESTONE
Islanders forward Josh Bailey was presented with a silver stick to commemorate playing in his 1,000 NHL game in Friday night's 6-2 win at Carolina in which he scored the winning goal. Bailey — who was joined by his family on the ice before Saturday's game — joined center Bryan Trottier (1,123) and defenseman Denis Potvin (1,060) as the only Islanders to reach that mark.
UP NEXT
Avalanche: Play Columbus on Nov. 4 in the first of two games in Finland.
Islanders: At Chicago on Tuesday night.