NEW YORK _ Twice, the Blues carried the play for long stretches of the game and the Islanders had trouble sustaining offensive zone pressure or just getting the puck down low.
But twice the Islanders came away with victories.
This time, Valtteri Filppula's overtime goal at 1:37 made the Islanders a 2-1 winner on Tuesday night at Barclays Center. The Islanders conclude their four-game homestand on Thursday night against the Devils at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum.
Robin Lehner stopped 30 shots for the Islanders (26-15-4), who were coming off Sunday night's impressive 5-1 win over the NHL-leading Lightning.
The Islanders spotted the Blues two first-period goals but escaped St. Louis with a 4-3 win on Jan. 5, though Islanders coach Barry Trotz spoke of "red flags" and a "wake-up call" in the aftermath of that victory. On cue, the Hurricanes snapped the Islanders' season-high, six-game winning streak three nights later. But the Islanders have now won three of four and 12 of 15 overall.
"There was a point there during that winning streak, after the Toronto game (a 4-0 win on Dec. 29) where we were pretty average," left wing Matt Martin said. "Overall, our game as gotten to that next step. But at this point in the season, everyone around the league is just a little bit more committed, especially those teams playing for those playoff spots."
The Blues (20-20-5) have re-entered the playoff push under interim coach Craig Berube and with 25-year-old rookie goalie Jordan Binnington (23 saves) winning his first three NHL starts before sustaining his first loss on Tuesday. David Perron tied the score at 1 at 6:07 of the third period, getting past Mathew Barzal to the right post and taking the feed from Ryan O'Reilly, who beat defenseman Scott Mayfield to the puck behind the crease.
Less than two minutes earlier, Cal Clutterbuck sprung Casey Cizikas for a breakaway and Cizikas, going to his forehand, deked Binnington out of position but the puck rolled off of Cizikas' blade.
Unlike their first game at St. Louis, the Islanders started strongly and took eight of the game's first nine shots. They nearly took the lead at 8:32 when Anders Lee tipped Nick Leddy's wrist shot from the left point off the right post and the puck rolled back harmlessly across the crease.
But Jordan Eberle, with the 200th goal of his career, did make it 1-0 at 8:43 as he collected the rebound of Lee's shot at the right post and lifted a backhander. The goal survived a challenge from the Blues that Lee interfered with Binnington, named the NHL's second star of the week.
The Blues, who won, 4-1, at Washington on Monday night, regained their legs in the second period and outshot the Islanders, 18-6.
But Lehner turned aside all of those shots, including eight on two Blues power plays. Five of those came after Lee was called for delay of game as he tied up the puck along the boards at 10:49, with Lehner stoning Oskar Sundqvist twice from close range.
Sundqvist had missed most of the first period after colliding with referee Ghislain Hebert behind the Islanders' crease on his first shift of the game and taking a forearm to his jaw as Hebert protected himself.
