Nelson, Islanders send Jets to 3rd straight loss

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist, and the New York Islanders defeated the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 at UBS Arena on Tuesday.

Kyle Palmieri and Ryan Pulock also scored, and Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves for the Islanders (28-26-7), who had lost five of their previous seven games, including 4-0 at the New York Rangers on Monday.

“It was a great team effort,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “Even in our meeting, before the game, I could tell that the guys were ready for that game. We knew we were playing against a very good hockey club, and we had to come up with a solid team effort. And that's exactly what we got.”

Although the Islanders are only three points behind the Rangers for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, there has been speculation regarding the futures of Nelson and Palmieri with the NHL Trade Deadline approaching (Friday at 3 p.m. ET). Each forward is in the final season of his contract.

“I’ve had conversations with (general manager) Lou [Lamoriello] and I’ve been honest,” Nelson said. “I really, truly, have been worried about here and playing and doing everything we can to win.”

Josh Morrissey had a goal and an assist, and Kyle Connor had two assists for the Jets (42-16-4), who have lost three in a row (0-2-1), scoring a combined four goals. Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves.

“We had a fantastic first period,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “We had a puck battle on the penalty kill, and gave up the weak-side ice and they obviously made a real nice play on [the first goal].

“I really liked our first. I liked a lot of our game. I thought the whole game, our pace and our pressure was back to what it was when it's at its best. I thought that that's a lot of what we did tonight. And we're in the funk right now when it comes to scoring goals. And teams go through these. … And you’ve just got to stay with it.”

Palmieri gave New York a 1-0 lead on the power play at 16:49 of the first period. He scored with a one-timer from low in the left face-off circle off of Nelson’s cross-ice pass.

Nelson extended the lead to 2-0 at 1:33 of the second period, tapping the puck in at the right post to finish a give-and-go with Maxim Tsyplakov on a 2-on-1.

Morrissey pulled the Jets within 2-1 with a power-play goal at 8:48. His shot from the point deflected in off the skate of Islanders forward Simon Holmstrom in the slot.

“We're having a little bit of a hard time putting the puck in the net right now, and that hasn't been an issue all year,” Morrissey said. “So, I’m not worried about that. The goals are going to start coming. But the effort, the execution, the compete I thought was there a lot more frequently tonight and we'll have to build on that on the rest of this road trip.”

Pulock gave the Islanders a 3-1 lead at 4:03 of the third period. His shot from the right point deflected off the stick of Jets forward Alex Iafallo and then Winnipeg forward Rasmus Kupari’s left skate before trickling in past Hellebuyck’s right pad.

“I thought we battled all year,” Pulock said. “We've been through some stuff throughout the year with different injuries and different things. Obviously we're not in a position in the standings where we want to be. But I think the belief is in this locker room that we can still get on a roll here and find ourselves in the playoffs. If we can get healthy and get into the playoffs, I love our team. I love going up against anyone.”

Nikolaj Ehlers’ power-play goal cut it to 3-2 at 12:51. He took a pass from Connor to the left of Sorokin, turned to the front of the net and shot from the top of the crease to the blocker side.

Kupari left the game at 8:58 of the third after getting tangled up with Hudson Fasching in the neutral zone and crashing into the boards.

"We'll wait and see,” Arniel said. “Obviously, he banged his head there, so we'll just wait and see what [happens] tomorrow.

"I think it's his head. I really haven't found out yet.”

NOTES: Jets defenseman Dylan Samberg missed the game due to a family matter but will meet the team for the second of its four-game road trip, at the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. … Nelson became the ninth player in Islanders history to score 20 or more goals in nine seasons. He also passed Bobby Nystrom for the fourth-most games played with New York (901). … Palmieri reached 20 goals for the second straight season and seventh time in his NHL career.