Blue Jackets 5, Islanders 2
Blue Jackets 5, Islanders 2: Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Johansen each had a goal and two assists as host Columbus snapped a five-game losing streak.
R.J. Umberger and Cam Atkinson scored less than three minutes apart early in the third period to snap a 2-2 deadlock and defenseman James Wisniewski added an empty-net goal as the Blue Jackets handed New York its third straight loss. Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 24 shots and earned an assist on the final tally as Columbus beat the Islanders for the fourth consecutive time.
Frans Nielsen and defenseman Thomas Hickey had the goals for New York, which fell to 0-3-0 on a four-game road trip that concludes Sunday in Montreal. Evgeni Nabokov made 24 saves and has permitted 10 goals in his last two starts.
Dubinsky opened the scoring on the power play at 6:25 of the opening period, flipping a soft backhand through a screen that hit the far post and caromed off Nabokov's skate and into the net. Nielsen tied it with 35 seconds with a wrist shot through the legs of a screened Bobrovsky.
After Johansen and Hickey traded second-period goals, Umberger put the Blue Jackets ahead to stay on the power play by redirecting Wisniewski's shot from the point past Nabokov. Atkinson doubled the lead 2:57 later, knocking a rebound home as Columbus averted its first six-game losing streak since November 2006.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Recently acquired Islanders LW Thomas Vanek exited the game after only 23 seconds in what the team called an upper-body injury. Vanek tripped over Bobrovsky on an early rush and fell awkwardly. ... Umberger's go-ahead tally gave him 14 goals in 29 games against the Islanders. ... Nabokov has surrendered 29 goals in his last seven appearances, allowing at least three tallies in each.