Islanders roll thanks to Filppula’s OT goal, Lehner’s goaltending

The two points came harder than they had to, but the Islanders will take them just the same.

Valtteri Filppula came off the bench in overtime, took a pass from Mathew Barzal and buried a wrister with 1:37 remaining in the extra period to lift the Islanders to a 2-1 win against the Blues on Tuesday night at Barclays Center.

The Islanders (26-15-4) improved to 12-3-0 over their past 15 games, continuing to bank points however they can while improving their standing in the Metropolitan Division.

“We’re going to be in those games where it’s tight, it’s greasy and you gotta wait for your chances,” Barzal said. “Hey, if it works and we’re winning, keep it coming.”

Coming off a 5-1 win over the first-place Lightning on Sunday night, in which Thomas Greiss stopped 38-of-39 shots, the Islanders wanted to back it up with another strong effort in the midst of a seven-game, 11-day stretch.

Goalie Robin Lehner was key in this one, making 30 saves in the win to improve to 9-1-0 in his past 10 games.

“Hell of a win for us,” said Lehner, who made seven of his 18 second-period saves during a penalty kill. “Obviously we had a really big win against Tampa where everyone contributed. It was important to follow that up.”

The Blues (20-20-5) had won five of their past seven, and they robbed Lehner of his shutout bid when David Perron beat Barzal to the net and finished off a one-timer to tie the game 1-1 at 6:07 of the third period.

The Islanders had a pair of power plays the rest of the way in regulation — the first lasting just 10 seconds after a slashing by defenseman Nick Leddy — but could not convert on a flurry of chances just after the second had expired.

So they settled for having to win it on Filppula’s overtime strike.

“I let my guy go there on their goal, knew I had to make something happen,” Barzal said. “I knew [Ryan] O’Reilly had been out there for a while, since the start. I was going to see if they made a change or if we could catch them on a rush. Fil stepped on, great spot, he’s a smart player obviously in the right spot and great bury by him.”

Jordan Eberle gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead on his 200th career goal at 8:43 of the first period, flipping in a backhander after Anders Lee did the dirty work that left the loose puck behind for him.

“There’s obviously milestones, but when you’re a kid, you’re not thinking about scoring 200 goals,” Eberle said. “You’re thinking about winning the Stanley Cup.”

The Islanders controlled the first 20 minutes, but the Blues quickly tilted the ice in their favor in the second period with a pair of power plays that came up empty, thanks to Lehner, one post and a few blocked shots, including one that hobbled Scott Mayfield.

“Resilient in our end,” coach Barry Trotz said. “I thought we showed, when we needed a big play or a block or a save or high commitment, we had that.”

But their best penalty killer was Lehner, who lowered his league-best goals against average to 2.16.

“He was the reason we won tonight,” Eberle said.

After battling back from mental-health issues and substance abuse, Lehner continued his bounce-back season in convincing fashion.

“He’s becoming the goaltender he’s capable of becoming,” Trotz said. “Before, he couldn’t, unless the person and all the other stuff was taken care of.”