The Upshot: Missed opportunities for the NY Islanders in 4-3 OT loss to Montreal

HOW IT HAPPENED

After the Islanders failed to convert on a 4-on-3 power play, Mike Matheson scored on a rebound of a shot by Mike Hoffman at 4:39 of overtime to lift the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-3 overtime win over the New York Islanders on Saturday afternoon at Bell Centre. Kirby Dach tied the game with 3:16 left to play in the 3rd period, and Sam Montembeault earned the win with 27 saves for Montreal (21-27-4) in their first game since Jan. 31.

Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist for the Isles and extended his point streak to 10 games. Bo Horvat scored his third goal in his fourth game with the team, and Matt Martin added a goal to regain the lead in the third period. Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves in the loss for the Isles (27-23-6).

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Brock Nelson stayed red-hot, scoring his team-leading 21st goal in the first period when he deflected Noah Dobson's shot by putting his stick in between his legs to tie the game at 1-1 at 15:01 of the opening period. The All-Star's 10-game point streak is the Islanders' first since Josh Bailey's 11-gamer from Dec. 9 to 31, 2017. Thomas Vanek was the last player to do it before then, with a 10-game streak from Dec. 20, 2013, to Jan. 7, 2014.

WHAT WENT WRONG

The Islanders' Achilles heel all season has been their power play, and during overtime, they were given a golden opportunity with a 4-on-3 man advantage. But even with Bo Horvat on the ice, the power play looked predictable and stagnant, failing to get the Habs penalty-kill moving. After the power play ended, Mathew Barzal, at the end of a long shift, tried to make one more play and turned the puck over at the blue line, leading to Matheson's game-winning goal on the rebound.

STATS OF THE GAME

Per statistician Eric Hornick, the Islanders are 4-2-3 in last 9 games that they have led through two periods. They have lost nine points when leading after 2 periods (19-3-3), most in the NHL.

SOCIAL MEDIA MOMENT OF THE GAME

Lane Lambert ended up having to return to the bench to await the NHL's decision on whether the GWG was onside or not, but when he left the bench the first time, he slammed the bench door in disgust as his team let another opportunity to secure two points slip away.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Islanders are back at home at UBS Arena to host the Ottawa Senators.

Face-off is scheduled at 7:30 PM ET