NEWARK, NJ— On the second half of a back-to-back, the New Jersey Devils fell behind early to the Islanders and kept playing catchup until the very end.

Three times the Devils worked their way back to a tie game before the two clubs played in overtime.

After Brock Nelson opened the game’s scoring with a deflection past Jake Allen just 1:23 into the game, the Devils were forced into a game of catchup. New Jersey was never quite out of it; goals from Nico Hischier in the first period and Curtis Lazar in the second period twice tied the game to keep the home team in the fight.

Former Devil Kyle Palmieri gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead at 11:28 of the second, tipping in an Alexander Romanov shot. It was a lead the Islanders would hold until the waning moments of regulation.

With Jake Allen pulled for the extra attacker, the Devils went to work 6-on-5 with Jesper Bratt, the beneficiary of multiple bodies crashing Ilya Sorokin’s net and the puck finding its way through.

Islanders Bo Horvat won the game early in overtime, 4-3, just after Nico Hischier was denied on a great chance in the opening 10 seconds of extra time.

Here are some observations from the game:

• Nico Hischier remains on a point-per-game pace to start the season, scoring his eighth goal of the season to open the scoring for New Jersey against the Islanders. In his last four games, the Devils captain has five goals, and his eight goals lead the team, as do his 11 points.

This marks the hottest start to Hischier’s career in terms of offensive contributions. Hischier carries a load of responsibility each game, on both sides of the puck, and in years past has nowhere near reached the same early-season offensive success as he is having right now. And in no way has it impacted the two-way game that he is so widely known for. In fact, just a night prior, Hischier put in a two-goal effort against Detroit while also tackling 57.1 percent of the Devils faceoffs and finished with a 53.1 percent efficiency.

• Hischier is currently tied for the league lead in goals with Tampa Bay superstar Nikita Kucherov.

• Jesper Bratt’s assist on Hischier’s goal was his ninth point of the season. Only twice this year has he been held without a point (Oct. 4, vs BUF, Oct. 17 vs. OTT).

• The Devils penalty kill had a strong night, going 3-for-4.

• Kurtis MacDermid played his first game since Game 2 of the season in Prague. He was called to duty on Friday night while Nathan Bastian was out of the lineup.

MacDermid’s biggest shift against the Islanders came in the second period, when he made a perfectly timed hit on the Islanders’ big-hitter, Alexander Romanov. The hit was so hard that Romanov’s helmet was knocked off. Romanov was caught by MacDermid’s hit, crossing his blueline just after the puck had left his stick.

Scott Mayfield challenged MacDermid to a fight, of which the Devils forward obliged.