NEW YORK _ No rust issues here. The Islanders looked as crisp over a full 60 minutes as they have all season.
They started strong, defended well, again got solid goaltending and managed to push the pace at times while not yielding when the Coyotes were able to dominate puck possession.
The Islanders, following three days of practice and an off day, extended their winning streak to five with a 4-2 win on Thursday night at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum.
It started a stretch of three games in four nights for the Islanders (6-3-0), who play at Ottawa on Friday night and against the Flyers at the Coliseum on Sunday night, though another four-day break then follows.
The Islanders had not played since a 3-2 overtime win at Columbus on Saturday night. But the extended break allowed fourth-line center Casey Cizikas to heal his lower-body injury _ he had been wearing a boot on his left foot _ and return to the lineup after missing five games.
"It almost feels like you just had training camp and this is our first game," defenseman Ryan Pulock said. "That break can be important for certain things, to get some guys healthy."
Josh Bailey had a goal and an assist, Brock Nelson had two assists and Semyon Varlamov stopped 21 shots, following up on his 32-save performance in a 3-1 win at Winnipeg on Oct. 17 and winning his third straight start.
Darcy Kuemper made 18 saves for the Coyotes (5-3-1), who had their four-game winning streak snapped as they are halfway through a four-game road trip.
Kuemper allowed more than two goals for the first time in his last 14 appearances. His franchise record streak was snapped as captain Anders Lee, falling to his backside as he battled defenseman Alex Goligoski for position above the crease, connected on a backhander to make it 3-1 at 8:00 of the third period.
Conor Garland cut the lead to 3-2 at 18:55 with the Coyotes skating six-on-five. But defenseman Scott Mayfield clinched it with a rink-long empty-net goal with 11.2 seconds remaining.
Coach Barry Trotz was concerned the Islanders' long layoff would manifest into a slow start for the Islanders. But it was quite the opposite.
"It's just getting back on the horse," Trotz said. "We know how to play. We just have to get through that first period because you forget how quick that game is. You can practice all you want but you forget how fast the game is."
The slow start was icing the puck twice in the opening 35 seconds. But the Islanders took a 1-0 lead at 1:25 of the first period as Derick Brassard _ moved from third-line center, his natural position, to right wing on Nelson's second line _ redirected defenseman Ryan Pulock's slap shot from the right boards. The Islanders continued to buzz the crease and Kuemper had to make a sharp pad save on Lee at 2:58 to keep it a one-goal game.
Kuemper also got a piece of Cole Bardreau's breakaway backhander at 7:32 as the puck deflected off the crossbar.
The Coyotes tied it at 1-1 as ex-Islander Michael Grabner beat Varlamov over his glove from the left circle off Bailey's giveaway.
Bailey's one-timer from the slot off defenseman Nick Leddy's feed gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 14:03 of the second period.
Phil Kessel's hook on Cal Clutterbuck at 15:06 of the second period ended the Islanders' stretch of 128:24 without a power play, stretching to the second period at Winnipeg. But the Islanders' man advantage lasted just 41 seconds before Mathew Barzal negated it by slashing the stick of defenseman Jakob Chychrun.
