This was the sort of effort which, if the Islanders could replicate it consistently, makes them look like a playoff contender.

NEW YORK (AP) — Bo Horvat scored twice in New York's three-goal second period, and the Islanders beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 on Monday night. Simon Holmstrom also scored and Mathew Barzal had two assists as the Islanders won their second straight and fifth in seven games. Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves.

The New York Islanders (19-20-7) took over a second straight game in the second period, bowling over the Columbus Blue Jackets (22-18-7). The game finished X-1, with Bo Horvat’s second-period pair lifting the Islanders to the win.

The Blue Jackets never quite got going in a lackluster 3-1 loss to the Islanders to end their seven-game point streak.

Final Thoughts: The Islanders last faced the Blue Jackets on Oct. 30, when they were shut out 2-0. That was the game in which Mathew Barzal suffered his long-term upper-body injury. The gap between the Islanders and Columbus is eight points right now.

The Islanders, seven points behind the Bruins for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, moved within six points of the surging Blue Jackets and improved to 2-2-0 on their seven-game homestand, which continues Friday night against the Flyers.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko scored in the shootout as the Columbus Blue Jackets rallied ... Gatcomb made his NHL debut. Jean-Gabriel Pageau did not dress because ...

Bo Horvat scored twice in New York’s three-goal second period, and the Islanders beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 on Monday night.

The website PuckPedia ‘s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Maple Leafs acquiring Jean-Gabriel Pageau and a defenseman in a blockbuster deal with the New York Islanders.

The Isles are 8-5-7 in games decided by a single goal including 4-5 in regulation. They are 2-6 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 3-8 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Bo Horvat scored twice in the second period Monday night for the host New York Islanders, who beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 in Elmont, N.Y. Simon Holmstrom’s short-handed goal in the second proved to be the game-winner for the Islanders,