NEW YORK - A three-point afternoon by center John Tavares was the driving force behind the New York Islanders' first win in Brooklyn, a 4-2 defeat of the Winnipeg Jets at Barclays Center on Monday.

Tavares assisted on the game's first two goals by right winger Ryan Strome and left winger Brock Nelson before he scored what turned out to be the winner midway through the second period.

The Islanders lost their first two games to the Blackhawks, losing here in overtime Friday and in Chicago in regulation on Saturday. They built a 3-0 lead against the Jets before surviving a third-period push to christen their new home with a victory.

"With each game that passes, the more comfortable you feel," Tavares said. "So far, it's good. It was a big win here. We certainly didn't want to go down 0-3."

Goaltender Thomas Greiss was strong in net when he needed to be, stopping 22 shots for his first win as an Islander. He is likely to shoulder the load while goaltender Jaroslav Halak is out with an upper-body injury.

The only two shots to elude Greiss were a deadly wrist shot from center Mark Scheifele during the second period that cut the lead to 3-1 and a power-play goal from defenseman Dustin Byfuglien with 8:08 remaining in the third period brought the Jets within 3-2.

The Islanders allowed just two shots over the rest of the contest. Left winger Josh Bailey's empty-net goal with 18.1 seconds remaining iced the game.

"We played Islander hockey," coach Jack Capuano said. "We talk about it all the time. We didn't have success against Chicago, but if you watched us play (today), the focus, the preparation from the drop of the puck, we dominated the hockey game."

The Islanders took advantage of six power-play opportunities during the first two periods, as Strome converted with 11.8 seconds remaining in the first period to open the scoring and Tavares buried a rebound chance in the second period to give the Islanders a 3-0 lead.

In two losses to the Blackhawks, the Islanders went 0-for-4 with the man-advantage.

If not for goaltender Ondrej Pavelec, who made 40 saves, including 33 over the first two periods, the Jets wouldn't have had a chance to tie the score late in the late third period. Pavelec stopped Tavares on a penalty shot with 2:15 remaining to keep the score 3-2.

"We didn't play our best and we were one shot away," Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba said. "Pav played a great game. He kept us in it and made a lot of saves. We didn't play very well and we were one shot away. That's something we can take out of this game."

Not only were the Jets shorthanded six times but they were guilty of eight minor infractions during the game, all of which occurred during the first 32:23.

"Hopefully it was just an isolated incident," Jets center Bryan Little said of the penalties. "For the most part, we've been pretty disciplined in the first two games. I think it had to do with how we were chasing the puck and how much puck possession they had."

The Jets closed that possession gap in the third period and held a 9-8 edge in shots over the final 20 minutes. But the Islanders avoided falling back into a shell after the Byfuglien goal and had seven shots attempts over the final eight minutes, including Bailey's game-sealing empty-netter.

It was exactly what Capuano wanted to see.

"When the opposition wanted to push, we're not sitting back," Capuano said. "That's not our mindset. I thought our guys did a great job."

NOTES: Islanders RW Cal Clutterbuck left the game briefly after a second-period hit from Jets D Dustin Byfuglien but returned for the third period. ... Islanders G Jaroslav Halak (upper body) and D Thomas Hickey (upper body) did not play. Neither player has appeared in a game this season. Coach Jack Capuano said Halak is day-to-day. ... Islanders RW Steve Bernier and D Ryan Pulock were healthy scratches. ... Jets D Grant Clitsome (back) missed his third straight game and has yet to make his season debut. ... Jets D Paul Postma, D Adam Pardy and RW Anthony Peluso were healthy scratches. ... The Jets will conclude their four-game trip Tuesday night against the New York Rangers.