Islanders' Bo Horvat scores in overtime to beat Stars 

DALLAS — Patrick Roy wants to see his Islanders play with more confidence.

What the Islanders need is wins, and the two go hand-in-hand.

So maybe this is a start.

Mathew Barzal fed Bo Horvat in the slot for the winner at 2:54 of overtime as the Islanders earned a 3-2 victory over the Stars on Monday night at American Airlines Center.

The Islanders twice built one-goal leads in regulation in snapping a two-game losing streak.

“For some reason, [Sunday] at practice, I thought they were playing free,” Roy said. “They were just letting themselves go. I thought we were applying things instead of thinking about all of this. I was very happy with the way we played today. I think we can build around that and bring this game to our next game in Detroit on Thursday night.”

It marked the first game for Roy’s revamped lines as he put his top three goal-scorers, Brock Nelson, Horvat and Barzal, together on a top-heavy top trio. They had a combined 13 shots.

Ilya Sorokin stopped 30 shots for the Islanders (24-20-14), including denying Roope Hintz’s breakaway at 9:11 of the third period.

“I just wait for him to make the first move,” Sorokin said. “Every win is good for confidence. We played a good game today.”

Scott Wedgewood made 25 saves for the Stars (35-16-9), sprawling to stop Barzal at the crease at 16:25 of the third period shortly after the Islanders could not capitalize on a late power play.

“We played a great road game today,” Horvat said. “They took it to us there a little bit but we weathered the storm really well. Sorokie made unbelievable saves when he had to and, at the end of the day, we got the job done. That’s all that matters.”

The Islanders are sixth in the Metropolitan Division, with two teams and five points separating them from the third-place Flyers, who hold the last guaranteed playoff spot in the division. In the wild-card race, the Islanders are seven points out of the final spot with two teams in front of them.

The Islanders, who have only five regulation wins in their last 26 games, are 5-5-3 under Roy.

“The two points is what’s important,” said defenseman Ryan Pulock, who had a goal and an assist. “Another overtime game, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is we got that extra point.

“We’re trying to build something here and there’s been some ups and downs throughout this. We’ve played good at times and we’ve hurt ourselves in moments, but I thought tonight we stayed with it. We never had any ups and downs.”

The Islanders’ power play, in a 1-for-15 rut, could not extend a 1-0 lead despite back-to-back chances at the start of the second period, including 30 seconds of five-on-three play. They did not generate a shot on net, though Nelson hit the post from the right.

The Islanders took a 1-0 lead at 15:59 of the first period as Simon Holmstrom, on the right wall, found Pulock cutting to the slot for a wrist shot.

The Stars tied it at 1-1 on Matt Duchene’s power-play goal at 7:11 with 10 seconds left on an interference call against Pulock.

Kyle MacLean regained a 2-1 lead for the Islanders at 15:24 of the second period, knocking in the rebound of Pierre Engvall’s shot. But Logan Stankoven, who notched his first NHL point on Duchene’s tally, got his first NHL goal as he beat Sorokin from the left to tie it at 2-2 at 18:17 of the second period.

“We’ve got to play a little more instinctively,” Barzal said before the game. “Just go out there and play and have fun and enjoy it. Because it’s a fun moment as much as it stinks to be in the position we’re in right now. We wish we had 10 more points. We’re absolutely in the grind. Every game is so crucial right now, and that’s the fun part of being in the NHL.”

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.