Islanders take 5-2 win over Detroit

In Elmont, Brock Nelson hit for a pair of goals in a 5-2 won for the Islanders over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night,“It’d be cool (to score 30),” Nelson said. “I’ve said before, you try to set goals every year. … I think 30’s a pretty good benchmark. You obviously start at maybe 10, 20, whatever and work your way, but that’d be special. Hopefully I can get that and keep going and see what happens.”

Ilya Sorokin made 37 saves in the New York win.

The Detroit strikers were Pius Suter and Sam Gagner.

The Isles improved to 28-25-9 off their fourth win five games.

“I think with our playoff runs the last couple of years, I think once you develop just that winning mentality, I feel like you can really do anything,” New York’s Martin Barzal said. “We’ve rattled off 13-, 14-game [point] streaks before, so I think this group’s going to fight until we’re in or we’re out.

“We’ve got fans at home to entertain and put on a good show, and I think we’ve always been a pretty good road team, so you never know, right?”

Anthony Beauvillier and Oliver Wahlstrom scored in the first period to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead.

“We got a little bit of a break,” the Isles’ Anders Lee said. “I was able to just poke it, and ‘Beau’ finished it really well. It did happen quick. I don’t know, we just set out to have a good start and kind of got a break to do it.”

Josh Bailey scored early in the third period to give the Isles a 4-0 lead, after Nelson had pushed the advantage to 3-0.

“I thought [Zdeno Chara] was really important in that; he covered a lot of space with that stick and that body,” New York coach Barry Trotz said. “To me, it was a tipping point. They get back in that game if they score one or two, or they put the kids to bed after that.”

The e Red Wings dropped to 26-31-7.

“We didn’t start well and we didn’t have enough offensive zone time until the second and third period,” Detroit’s Dylan Larkin said. “A team that likes to play at home like these guys do, you have to have a better start.”

“We did a better job of getting to the cage in the third, but obviously it was too late,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said.