BUFFALO — Sam Reinhart poked in a rebound with 4:14 left, and the Sabres edged the Islanders 4-3 on Thursday night after squandering a three-goal lead.
Jack Eichel and Evan Rodrigues each had a goal and an assist for Buffalo, and Ryan O’Reilly also scored. Robin Lehner stopped 26 shots to help the Sabres salvage the finale of a five-game homestand after going 0-3-1 in their previous four games.
John Tavares, Anders Lee and Ross Johnston scored for the Islanders, who had gone 5-0-3 in their previous eight trips to Buffalo. Jaroslav Halak stopped 18 shots.
The Islanders squandered an opportunity to jump ahead of idle Columbus for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. They dropped to 1-3-1 in their last five games.
“Nothing was missing. We had a great game,” coach Doug Weight said. “I thought we got good performances from a lot of guys. I mean, we’re going to win hockey games. We just can’t afford to lose those.”
Reinhart also had two assists. He got the winner 73 seconds after Lee tied it at 3.
Eichel began the play when his shot from the right boards hit a skate and caromed into the slot to Rodrigues, whose shot was stopped by Halak. Reinhart was left alone in front to knock in the rebound.
The Islanders have allowed three or more goals in 10 of their past 11 games.
The Islanders fell behind 3-0 in the second period before they started to rally. Tavares swept in a loose puck at 13:06, and the Islanders added two more in the third.