This wasn’t about Brock Nelson coming back to UBS Arena for the first time. It was about preventing the NHL-best Avalanche from coming back and ensuring just their second regulation loss.

The Islanders opened a four-goal lead in the second period before giving up two goals in one minute, 25 seconds to the most potent offense in the league. The Avalanche continued to press in the third period but the Islanders limited the Avalanche’s speed advantage enough with their neutral-zone work and ended a seven-game homestand with an impressive 6-3 win on Thursday night.

Mathew Barzal had a goal and two assists and Ilya Sorokin made 35 saves as the Islanders (15-10-3) ended a 3-3-1 homestand with consecutive wins over the conference leaders, including Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over the Lightning.

The

See Full Page