The Upshot: Bo Horvat's OT winner lifts NY Islanders over the Devils in New Jersey

HOW IT HAPPENED

Bo Horvat scored on a one-timer from Mathew Barzal 1:09 into overtime as the New York Islanders defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-3 Friday night at Prudential Center. Jesper Bratt tied the game at 3-3 with 1:29 left to play, already the third blown third-period lead for the Islanders this season. Brock Nelson opened up the scoring for the Islanders 1:23 into the game and scored his third of the season on the power play later in the period. Kyle Palmieri scored for the Isles (3-2-2), and Ilya Sorokin made 32 saves in the win. Bratt, Nico Hischier, and Curtis Lazar had the goals for New Jersey, which lost four straight after starting the season 5-2-0. Jake Allen ended with 26 saves in the loss.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

The Islanders scored and it didn't take long. Brock Nelson's goal 1:23 into the game was the team's fastest game-opening goal this season. After being shutout on Tuesday night for the third time in six games, it was big for the Islanders to break through early against a defensively-challenged Devils team that had allowed 19 goals over their previous games entering Friday night.

Nelson's tip-in goal and later Kyle Palmieri's deflection of an Alexander Romanov shot were both the product of the Islanders creating traffic in front of the net, something that was emphasized after the 1-0 loss versus Detroit. “Tonight, we scored goals that we probably have not scored the last few games because of it,” head coach Patrick Roy said after the game.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Another late lead the Islanders couldn't hold onto. The troubling trend has carried over from last season and for the third time in only seven games, the Islanders were unable to hold onto a third period lead. It cost them a point in the home opener versus Utah, but fortunately they were able to win the shootout in Montreal and pick up the OT winner versus New Jersey a few seconds after the Devils hit the crossbar just seconds into the extra session.

STAT OF THE GAME

Bo Horvat's OT winner was his fourth since the start of last season, tied with Winnipeg's Kyle Connor for most in the National Hockey League. Per NHL PR, Nelson's goal was his 252nd career road point to pass Bob Bourne (251) for ninth place on the team's all-time list.

SOCIAL MEDIA MOMENT OF THE GAME

Islanders radio play-by-play man Chris King delivers the call of the Horvat game-winner courtesy the "KingerCam" and color man Greg Picker.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Islanders are back on the ice Saturday night to take on the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers. Face-off from UBS Arena is set for 7:30 PM EDT.