Oliver Wahlstrom scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second period and the New York Islanders defeated the visiting Ottawa Senators 4-1 on Tuesday night in Elmont, N.Y.

Anthony Beauvillier, Mathew Barzal and Adam Pelech also scored for the Islanders, who had lost their two previous games. Scott Mayfield had two assists.

New York improved to 14-4-3 against teams outside the playoff picture; the Islanders are 2-12-3 against teams that entered the night occupying postseason spots.

Goalie Ilya Sorokin finished with 26 saves for the Islanders. He stopped the final 24 shots he faced.

Nick Holden scored for the Senators, who are 1-2-1 in their past four games. Goalie Anton Forsberg made 26 saves.

The Senators took the lead on a fluke goal 1:56 into the game. Sorokin gloved a shot by Holden from the left faceoff circle; but, as he brought his glove down, the puck remained on his shoulder and eventually fell off and into the net. It was Holden's second goal of the season, both against New York.

The Islanders made it 1-1 by scoring a power-play goal with 1:53 left in the period. Forsberg deflected a shot by Ryan Pulock before Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson each tried to put back rebounds. The loose puck skittered to Beauvillier, who tucked it between Forsberg's legs for his seventh score of the season.

Wahlstrom put the Islanders ahead for good with his 10th of the season, at 8:42 of the second period. Stationed in front of Forsberg, he knocked down a shot by Zdeno Chara and then backhanded the rebound under Forsberg's pad.

The Islanders took a 3-1 lead with 4:10 left in the middle period. But Mayfield, alone at the right point, gloved down a clearing pass and sent a diagonal pass to Barzal, who wound up as the puck sailed across the ice and one-timed a shot into the top corner for his 10th.

Pelech, New York's representative at the NHL All-Star Game on Saturday in Las Vegas, extended the lead to 4-1 at 7:44 of the third period. He crossed in front of Forsberg and, in one motion, took a pass from Mayfield and backhanded a shot into the top of the net -- his second of the season.

--Field Level Media