Boone Jenner deflected a Johnny Gaudreau shot for a game-winning power play goal just 40 seconds into overtime as the Columbus Blue Jackets edged the visiting New York Islanders 5-4 on Friday night.
Gaudreau scored earlier on a power-play and rookie Kent Johnson added rare trick goal to highlight a four-goal, second-period explosion for the Blue Jackets (23-41-7, 53 points), who won their second straight overtime contest and won back-to-back games for the first time since Feb. 16-18.
Michael Hutchinson stopped 34 shots to earn the win in goal for the Blue Jackets while Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves for the Islanders.
Brock Nelson scored twice, including the game-tying goal in the third, as the Islanders (37-27-9, 83 points) saw their three-game winning streak come to an end.
Islanders captain Anders Lee took a high-sticking penalty with 28.3 seconds left in regulation that allowed Columbus their game-winning power-play chance.
With the game tied 2-2 in the second period, Johnson pulled off a highlight-reel goal when he dragged the puck between his feet, skated behind the Islander net, lifted the puck onto his stick and into the air and dumped it into the net over Sorokin’s right shoulder for a so-called “Michigan” goal.
The goal came 27 years to the night that Michigan’s Mike Legg made the goal famous in an NCAA tournament game against Minnesota.
That goal gave Columbus its first lead, 3-2. Then 40 seconds later, 20-year-old Hunter McKown, making his NHL debut, centered the puck and Eric Robinson poked it between the legs of Sorokin for a 4-2 lead. McKown signed with Columbus just last week and earned his first point and took the game’s first shot.
With the Blue Jackets down two defensemen due to injuries to start the period, the Islanders rallied in the third period. Kyle Palmieri scored his 13th goal three and a half minutes into the third to cut the Columbus lead to one. Then Brock Nelson scored his second of the night on the power play eight minutes into the period to tie the game.
–Field Level Media
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