NEW YORK _ The way the Islanders played Monday night wasn't necessarily a reflection of how they have ascended to first place in the Metropolitan Division.
The Canadiens controlled much of the play over the last two periods as the Islanders struggled to mount a consistent attack or forecheck. But here's the thing about first-place teams: They often find a way to pull out points when they've been outplayed and outskated for long stretches.
Which is what happened in their 4-3, five-round shootout loss at Barclays Center as they extended their point streak to seven games while their winning streak ended at five.
The Islanders gave back the two-goal lead they forged in the first period and could not convert on the power play after the Canadiens were caught with too many men on the ice with 24.7 seconds left in regulation.
Casey Cizikas scored twice for the Islanders (8-4-2), and Thomas Greiss made 32 saves in his third straight start.
Antti Niemi was hardly overworked as Carey Price was held out to start Tuesday night against the Rangers at the Garden. Niemi made 21 saves for the Canadiens (8-4-2).
Jordan Eberle, Brock Nelson, Josh Bailey _ who had his eight-game point streak snapped _ Mathew Barzal and Valtteri Filppula all were unsuccessful in their shootout attempts. Greiss stopped Tomas Tatar, Jonathan Drouin, Max Domi and Jesperi Kotkaniemi before Joel Armia snuck one in for the winner.
So the Islanders were unable to sweep a three-game homestand after sweeping a three-game road trip. The Islanders, who next play at Tampa Bay on Thursday night, last won six in a row at the conclusion of the 2016-17 season.
"It's always easier when you play a few games," said Greiss, who was coming off Saturday's 35-save performance in a 3-0 win over the Devils. "You have a better rhythm with the game. You're more in the game. Sometimes, if you haven't played in a while, your timing is just off."
The Canadiens tied it at 3 at 7:43 of the third period as Artturi Lehkonen established position in the low slot and deflected Noah Juulsen's shot past Greiss.
The Islanders scored on two of their first four shots and had three goals on eight first-period shots to take a 3-1 lead at the first intermission.
Cizikas got to the crease to knock in the rebound of defenseman Adam Pelech's shot from the slot at 4:04. But the Canadiens responded quickly as Drouin snapped a shot over Greiss' glove from the left circle at 5:59.
Filppula, getting to the right post, dunked in Leo Komarov's feed off a two-on-one to make it 2-1 at 7:44. Cizikas made it 3-1 at 15:58 when his attempted feed to the middle went off the skates of defenseman Jordie Benn and right back to him as he skated toward the right post. Cizikas, regaining control, was able to beat Niemi to the short side.
Niemi was better in stopping all six shots he faced in the second period, including Anthony Beauvillier's partial breakaway, as the Islanders were caught scrambling too often in the middle period.
The Canadiens came within 3-2 at 15:36 on Domi's power-play goal. That snapped the Canadiens' 0-for-16 drought on the man advantage.
