COLUMBUS, Ohio — Brock Nelson scored his career-high 32nd goal, Semyon Varlamov made 42 saves and the New York Islanders held off the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 on Tuesday night.
Josh Bailey, Anthony Beauvillier and Zach Parise also scored as the Islanders snapped a two-game skid. New York moved within two points of Columbus in the standings, but both teams are well behind Washington for the last Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
Vladimir Gavrikov scored twice for Columbus, which lost its fourth straight. Oliver Bjorkstrand also scored and Elvis Merzlikins stopped 25 shots. The Blue Jackets played without coach Brad Larsen, who went into COVID-19 protocol earlier Tuesday, along with assistant Steve McCarthy.