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Bo Hovart scored his second goal of the game on a breakaway 3:10 into overtime and the New York Islanders snapped a three-game skid with a 5-4 win over the Boston Bruins on Sunday night.

Kicking off a busy end-of-January stretch for both teams, the Ottawa Senators host the Boston Bruins in a key Saturday afternoon clash of clubs on the Eastern Conference playoff bubble.

Pundits consider Islanders veterans Brock Nelson, Kyle Palmieri and Jean-Gabriel Pageau as trade candidates. Nelson and Palmieri are UFA-eligible on July 1, while Pageau has a year left on his contract.

The New York Islanders enter the matchup against the Boston Bruins on Sunday, Jan. 5 as losers of three games in a row.

Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin made a right pad stop, and Horvat picked up the rebound and beat Joonas Korpisalo on the breakaway to win it after David Pastrnak scored back-to-back goals in the third period to tie it 4-4.

After two straight one-goal efforts, the New York Islanders (15-18-7) defeated the Boston Bruins (20-17-5) 5-4 in overtime on Sunday evening in TD Garden.

New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy placed Brock Nelson between Anders Lee and Mathew Barzal in an effort to spark the offense. The Islanders entered Sunday's showdown with the Boston Bruins scoring just four total goals over their last three games.

A victory against the Bruins is paramount because the Senators can move into the final wild-card spot in the East with a win over Boston and begin to close the gap with the rest of the division. That’s why it makes sense for the club to stick with Merilainen.

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Islanders come into the matchup with the Boston Bruins as losers of three games in a row. Boston is 12-6-2 at home and 20-17-4 overall. The Bruins have a 7-9-3 record in games they serve more penalty minutes than their opponents.

The Bruins' loss to the New York Islanders on Sunday marked their fourth consecutive defeat and fifth in six games since the holiday break. Boston is still sitting third in the Atlantic Division with a 20-17-5 record, three points ahead of Tampa Bay, which is also on a four-game losing streak.

New York Islanders (14-18-7, in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Boston Bruins (20-17-4, in the Atlantic Division) Boston; Sunday, 6 p.m. EST Bruins -120, Islanders +100; over/under is 5.5 BOTTOM ...