NYI 4, CBJ 3: Blue Jackets Let 2-0 Lead Slip, Fall in Overtime to Islanders

By Will Chase on February 28, 2026 at 9:12 pm
Feb 28, 2026; Columbus, Ohio, USA; New York Islanders right wing Simon Holmstrom (10) celebrates with teammates after scoring the game-winning goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the overtime period at Nationwide Arena.
© Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
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That's tough.

  1 2 3 OT F
NYI 0 3 0 1 4
CBJ 1 2 0 0 3

CBJ GOALS: 
Lundestrom (1st, 2:30)
Marchment (2nd, 3:58)
Fantilli (2nd, 18:58)

Simon Holmstrom scored 1:47 into overtime as the New York Islanders beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 on Saturday night at Nationwide Arena.

The Islanders have won four straight, with three of those wins coming in overtime.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Scott Mayfield had a goal and an assist for New York. Anders Lee scored, and Mathew Barzal had two assists. Ilya Sorokin made 27 saves.

The Islanders are the only undefeated team in overtime this season, improving to 8-0.

Jet Greaves made 22 saves in the loss, snapping his six-game winning streak. Following Thursday's 4-2 loss in Boston, it's the first time the Blue Jackets have lost consecutive games since dropping four straight Jan. 4-10. Columbus is 10-2-1 under head coach Rick Bowness.

Isac Lundestrom, Mason Marchment, and Adam Fantilli scored for Columbus. Zach Werenski had two assists.

The Islanders were contained to four shots on goal in the first period as the Jackets had the 11-4 edge and a 1-0 lead as Lundestrom started the scoring 2:30 into the game.

In the second period, tempers flared, and goals were scored. First, it was Marchment extending the Blue Jackets' 2-0 lead at 3:58. Then the Islanders got a pair of goals in 22 seconds.

Lee tightened the gap with his 13th at 11:37, and Pageau added the tying goal at 11:59.

New York took its first lead with Mayfield getting his second goal of the season at 17:10. Columbus responded as Fantilli got the game-tying goal with 1:02 left.

There were no fights in the game, but a couple of second-period scrums as the intensity grew.

Columbus was outshot 10-3 in a scoreless third period.

In overtime, Coyle won the opening face-off, but after Werenski's pass eluded Coyle, the Islanders kept possession at the 4:46 mark of the frame all the way to the winning goal at 1:47. 

All the Olympians from the Blue Jackets and Islanders were honored in a pregame ceremony. It was a hero's welcome for Werenski, as his jersey and gold medal were on display on the concourse, and a video montage of his overtime game-winning assist was played on the overhead jumbotron. Kent Johnson was a healthy scratch.

As the Blue Jackets fall behind the Islanders by seven points in the Metropolitan Division, here's how the Blue Jackets dropped another critical game in the standings:

1st Period:

(2:30 — CBJ Goal): Right off face-off draw to the right of Sorokin, Lundestrom was in the right place at the right time, getting a piece of puck off Dante Fabbro's shot, as Lundestrom was credited with his third goal of the year. Fabbro gets his fifth assist, and Miles Wood (6) got the secondary assist.

(3:58 — CBJ Goal): Marchment's second-period goal gave him his 14th of the year and 10th in 16 games as a Blue Jacket, making him the fastest all-time to reach 10 goals with the Blue Jackets. Similar to the first goal, the play started near the right face-off circle to Sorokin. Charlie Coyle got his 28th assist as he touched the puck in between Werenski's pass on the way to Marchment's stick in the slot. Werenski got his 44th assist on the secondary helper.

The Blue Jackets are 11-3-2 with Marchment in the lineup and 4-4-0 without him.

(11:37 — NYI Goal): On the doorstep of Greaves, Mayfield's high shot hit Lee's raised arm, as the puck fell to the ice and Lee swept the puck in for his 13th goal. It looked like a high stick, but there was no challenge. Mayfield's assist was his eighth and his first point since Jan. 29. Pageau got his 13th.

(11:59 — NYI Goal): Twenty-two seconds later, the Islanders tied it up with Pageau getting his 14th goal, unassisted. The goal was challenged for goaltender interference as Pageau went into Greaves, but the call on the ice stood. The resulting delay of game penalty was the first penalty of the game.

(17:10 — NYI Goal): Mayfield's second goal of the season was a lucky pinball as it went off three Blue Jackets players before ending up in the back of the net. Barzal got his 36th assist.

(18:58 — CBJ Goal): Fantilli got a piece of Werenski's shot to get his 15th goal. Werenski's assist is his 45th. Fantilli has eight points (three goals, five assists) in his last eight games.

(1:47 — NYI Goal): Holmstrom won the game for the Islanders, with Tony DeAngelo getting his 22nd assist and Barzal his 37th. Columbus chased the majority of overtime as the Islanders gained possession and never let it go. Holmstrom finally broke free as DeAngelo found Holmstrom with a home run up the ice pass.

NYI GAME STATS CBJ
26 SHOTS 30
56.6% FACEOFFS 43.4%
0/2 POWER PLAY 0/0
0/0 PENALTY KILL 2/2
22 HITS 32
9 GIVEAWAYS 20
4 TAKEAWAYS 4
20 BLOCKED SHOTS 20
ALL SITUATIONS ADVANCED STATS
65 SHOT ATTEMPTS 63
33 SCORING CHANCES 28
16 HIGH-DANGER CHANCES 9
Advanced Data Via NaturalStatTrick.com

Stat Chat:

  • By getting a point, a trend by home teams in the season series continued. Over the last seven games between Columbus and the Islanders, the home team has recorded a point (5-0-2).
     
  • With a goal, Marchment has six points (two goals, four assists) in his last five home games against the Islanders.
     
  • With his secondary assist on Marchment's goal, Werenski matched a season-high nine-game point streak (two goals, 10 assists) dating back to Jan. 22. He has points in 13 of his last 14 games. His nine-game point streak is the longest by a Blue Jackets defenseman in franchise history.

Up Next:

With the calendar flipping to March, the schedule turns fast and furious as the Blue Jackets face a critical test of three games in four nights. It gets started with Monday's visit to Madison Square Garden to face the New York Rangers at 7 p.m. ET.

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