Palmieri won the New York Islanders sweep of the Montreal Canadiens

NEW YORK (AP) — Kyle Palmieri scored 1:17 into overtime and the New York Islanders extended their winning streak to six games with a 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.

Pierre Engvall and Casey Chickas also scored, Semyon Varlamov made 13 saves, and the Islanders moved closer to a playoff berth. Adam Pelech added two assists for New York, which is third in the Metropolitan Division with 89 points — three ahead of Pittsburgh with three games remaining.

“With things at stake and teams chasing us, we put ourselves in a position to control our destiny,” Cizikas said. “Every night we compete, that's how we play. You can see it on the ice, you can feel it in the locker room, guys are buying in.”

Cole Caufield had a goal and an assist, Jordan Harris had a goal and Sam Montembo made 30 saves, but the Canadiens lost for the fourth time in five games.

Palmieri's winner was his 28th of the season and extended his solo goal streak to four games.

“I thought he was really good at controlling the shot, and we had to beat him,” Palmieri said of Montembo. “Actually, I saw a small opening and tried to shoot it there.”

Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson left at 5:33 of the first period and did not return. Dobson is second on the team in scoring with 70 points (10 goals, 60 assists) and leads the Islanders in scoring average per 25 minutes of ice time.

Cizikas helped the Islanders erase a one-goal deficit for the second time when he beat Montembo's outstretched leg to the far post and made a neat save at 6:30.

“He's an energy bunny,” forward Matt Martin said of Tzizikias. “He works hard, he is also responsible in defense. He's always been talented enough, but he's playing well and he's playing hard, but he's not really playing any different than he used to. He just plays in an attacking position.”

Caufield slipped the puck between Varlamov's legs to break a 1-1 tie at 3:42 of the third period.

In the first round, Harris opened the scoring with a shot that tricked Varlamov. Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock blocked a shot without his own stick, but the Canadiens prevailed in the extended possession.

“I didn't feel like we had the sense to execute the fastball,” Canadiens coach Martin Saint said. “They made it difficult for us to make plays in space. Their numbers are always in the neutral zone. They opened fire, they were in a hurry.”

In the final minute of the opening period, Varlamov made a critical save to deny Joel Armia a chance and save the Islanders' deficit after 20 minutes.

“It's a tough game for the goalie,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said of Varlamov's 15 saves. “You don't have that many shots and when they come, they're quality shots. Varley is now in the zone. It's big, square, and hard to beat.

“He allowed us to stay in this game and win the hockey game.”

The Isles responded at 5:07 of the middle frame when Engvall fired a wrist shot past Montembo's glove into the top corner.

NEXT UP

Canadiens: Visit the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

Isles: Visit Rangers on Saturday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL