Devils 4, Avalanche 3. Islanders 3, Ducks 2. Two home wins get tight late.

The Devils and Islanders both won at home Tuesday. Neither final margin conveyed how much room the winner once had. New Jersey beat Colorado 4-3 after taking a 4-1 lead into the last four minutes. The Islanders defeated Anaheim 3-2 after scoring all three of their goals in the first period.

New Jersey's fourth goal mattered

Jesper Boqvist's empty-net goal at 16:05 of the third appeared to give the Devils ample separation. It became the winning goal instead. Artturi Lehkonen scored twice before the horn, the second with five seconds left, reducing a three-goal advantage to one. New Jersey kept the points, but the closing stretch was considerably less comfortable than 4-1 suggested.

Luke Evangelista had a goal and an assist in his return after missing three games through illness. Declan Chisholm scored his first Devils goal to break a 1-1 tie in the second period, and Arseny Gritsyuk extended the lead early in the third. Jake Allen made 31 saves. Scott Wedgewood stopped 37 shots for Colorado.

The Devils improved to 5-4-0 with their third win in four games. The useful distinction is between building a lead and completing the night. New Jersey did enough of both to win, even though Colorado's late response made Boqvist's fourth goal essential. Allen was also honored before the game for reaching 500 NHL appearances, a milestone achieved earlier in the month.

The Islanders made their first period last

At UBS Arena, the Islanders did their scoring in a burst lasting 5:05. Ondrej Palat opened the scoring at 13:39 of the first period. Victor Eklund added a second before Frank Vatrano answered for Anaheim. Simon Holmstrom then redirected Matthew Schaefer's point shot on a power play at 18:44, putting the Islanders ahead 3-1.

That was the Islanders' last goal. Ilya Sorokin made 15 saves, and the early cushion survived until Alex Killorn scored with 2:40 remaining and Anaheim's goaltender pulled. The Ducks had narrowed the game, not tied it. The Islanders finished a 3-2 victory and extended their point streak to four games, going 3-0-1 over that stretch.

Schaefer's assist was his eighth in nine games. The Islanders are 5-3-1, while Anaheim has lost four straight. One strong period supplied enough offense Tuesday. The next useful test is whether New York can add to an early advantage rather than asking it to last the entire evening.