The Islanders wanted to start strong. They wanted to take a lead and play with a lead. They wanted to stop digging themselves a hole in the first period, something they’d done in seven of their first eight games following the Olympic break.

Simon Holmstrom scored two goals in a three-minute span, the latter shorthanded, as the Isles built a 3-0 lead and defeated the Calgary Flames 3-2, before another sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.

The Islanders are 8-0 in overtime games this season, the only team in the league that hasn't lost in the extra period.