Anders Lee and Simon Holmstrom lead NY Islanders in 5-2 win over Anaheim Ducks

The New York Islanders kept their surge rolling Thursday night, defeating the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 at UBS Arena behind a four-point performance from captain Anders Lee and another steady outing in net from David Rittich.

Lee delivered two power-play goals and two assists, powering an opening period in which the Islanders jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Travis Mitchell started the scoring with his first NHL goal — a milestone for the 26-year-old defenseman playing just his seventh game since being recalled from Bridgeport. “It was unbelievable, I’ve always dreamt about scoring in the NHL and to actually do it, it’s pretty cool,” Mitchell said. Lee followed with back-to-back man-advantage tallies, bringing him to 297 career goals, fifth in franchise history.

“It was a solid team effort from the start to the end,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said. “We showed some swagger, some presence, by doing the right things.”

Simon Holmstrom added a goal and two assists, while Ryan Pulock scored his first of the season to help New York pull away after Anaheim cut the deficit to one. Rittich finished with 31 saves, improving to 7-3-1 and continuing his strong run as the Islanders’ steadying force in net.

Not all the news was positive: leading scorer Bo Horvat exited early in the second period with a lower-body injury after getting tangled with Ducks defenseman Drew Helleson. He did not return, casting uncertainty over an Islanders lineup already hit hard by injuries. “It was tough,” Lee said. “Our minds were on Bo, and we have to play a hockey game. Patrick flipped the lines a little bit, but I thought the guys pulled together and filled the hole as best we could.”

Anaheim’s Leo Carlsson and Troy Terry provided the Ducks’ goals, with Terry’s shorthanded marker early in the third making it a 3-2 game before the Islanders regained control.

With the win, the Islanders improved to 14-6-2 in their last 22 games, a stretch that includes victories over Tampa Bay (twice), Colorado and Vegas — four recent Stanley Cup champions.