Islanders drop 14th straight, fall in OT

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Jakub Voracek scored a rebound goal 2:31 into overtime to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 4-3 victory on Wednesday night and send the New York Islanders to their 14th straight loss.

Antoine Vermette, Chris Clark and R.J. Umberger also scored for Columbus, which has won five straight. It is the Blue Jackets' best run since a five-game streak from Dec. 2-12, 2006.

The Islanders, 0-11-3 in their past 14 games, scored more than two goals for the first time in 12 contests and earned a point at home for the first time since Oct. 12. This is New York's longest stretch without a win since a 14-game skid in which the Islanders lost 11 times and tied three others between Feb. 13-March 15, 1990.

Trent Hunter, Michael Grabner and John Tavares scored and Rick DiPietro made 34 saves for the Islanders. DiPietro stopped Kris Russell's head-on shot before the trailing Voracek buried the rebound in overtime for his fifth goal.

Mathieu Garon made 21 saves for Columbus, including stoning Frans Nielsen with a right-pad save a minute into overtime. Garon improved to 6-1 and Columbus moved to 4-0 against Eastern Conference teams.

New York went scoreless on three power plays and hasn't netted a man-advantage goal in seven games — going 0 for 27.

Grabner and Tavares scored in a 1:33 span early in the second period to give the Islanders a 3-2 lead. Grabner used a toe-drag move to get open between the circles before beating Garon with a backhander at 51 seconds for his fifth goal.

Tavares chipped in a ricochet off the end boards just moments later. Bruno Gervais' blocked shot hit the wall behind the net and bounced in front of the goal mouth as Tavares pounced for his second goal in 12 games and his eighth this season.

Umberger quieted the half-empty Nassau Coliseum crowd when he scored his seventh of the season at 6:46 to tie it at 3. Umberger logged his third multipoint game of the season. He has nine points in seven games.

New York took a 1-0 lead for the just the ninth time in 21 games when Hunter squeezed a left-circle shot between Garon's glove and the right post at 10:16. That marked Hunter's first goal in 17 games this season.

Columbus responded by scoring two goals in 2 minutes. The Blue Jackets, bounced back from allowing their first goal in three games after Hunter ended the club's shutout streak at 142 minutes, 54 seconds.

Vermette tied it 1-1 at 13:38 when he pushed in Derick Brassard's right-point pass for a power-play goal. Clark followed with a rebound strike for his fourth goal that made it 2-1.

Despite entering with the NHL's third-worst power-play unit, the Blue Jackets scored on special teams for the third time in four games for its opening goal. Matt Martin and Zenon Konopka were both sent off with penalties to give Columbus a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:54.

DiPietro stopped the first six shots on the power play before Vermette converted the seventh chance for his fourth goal at 13:48.

Moments later, DiPietro stopped Vermette's initial shot before Clark — left unguarded by defenseman Dylan Reese — fired in an open shot from the slot for his fourth goal.

NOTES: Tavares played in his 100th NHL game. Before the game, New York assigned forward Josh Bailey to AHL Bridgeport. The 2008 first-round pick didn't record a point in his last 13 games before the demotion. ... Islanders D Mike Mottau will miss 4-to-6 weeks after a puck struck his eye in Sunday's game against Atlanta. ... The Blue Jackets unveiled their new third jersey to fans in Columbus during a viewing party. The team will wear the uniforms on Friday at home against Detroit.