Hearty finish gains Blackhawks a point in 3-2 overtime loss to Islanders

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — If the Blackhawks had fought like this all season, they wouldn’t be stuck near the bottom of the Western Conference.

They trailed early in the third period Thursday before pulling even on a goal by Patrick Kane, then killed a penalty in the final minutes to earn a point before losing to the Islanders 3-2 in overtime.

The Islanders’ Devon Toews scored on a rebound after Hawks goalie Collin Delia slid far to his left to stop the first shot and couldn’t trap the puck, leaving a mostly open net.

‘‘We didn’t play very well tonight; that was pretty evident,’’ Kane said. ‘‘We probably didn’t deserve a point, and we got one.’’

The Hawks haven’t gone two games without a point since Dec. 11 and are 6-3-2 in that span.

They went back to Delia after giving Cam Ward the start in the Winter Classic on Tuesday, and he stopped 47 of 50 shots. The second goal he allowed came when he didn’t have his stick.

Delia got the stick knocked out of his hand on an Islanders power play with a little more than a minute left in the second period, and they pounced. Nick Leddy fired a shot that deflected to Mathew Barzal for a tap-in on what would’ve been Delia’s stick side.

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‘‘I feel good, but there’s a lot of progression that needs to happen on my part,’’ Delia said. ‘‘I need to really take a hard look in the mirror and see what I need to do better and be more disciplined with my game.’’

Delia is 3-0-1 since being called up last month from Rockford. He has a .952 save percentage and a 2.00 goals-against average.

Colliton homecoming

Even Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton, with his steely eyes and a personality to match, felt a little nostalgic walking into NYCB Live for the morning skate.

When pressed to offer something resembling human emotion, Colliton admitted it was a moderately special experience.

‘‘It’s good memories,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s the only organization I was with, so fun to be back. They’ve made some changes, so that’s neat.’’

Colliton played center in the Islanders’ organization in 2005-11. His NHL career ended at 26 because of concussions.

But more than missing the Islanders and the arena, being back reminded Colliton of how much he misses playing. He always thought about coaching, but he didn’t expect to be doing it at 33.

‘‘I kind of wanted to play till I was 40 and then figure it out,’’ he said. ‘‘I wasn’t ready to be done. I felt like I had a lot to contribute still, and I loved competing and loved the feeling after a win when your team has battled hard. [Coaching] is not the same as playing . . . but it’s as close as it can get.’’

Roster shuffling

The Hawks activated defenseman Brandon Davidson, bringing them to the roster limit.

More moves are coming, too. They traded for Oilers forward Drake Caggiula on Sunday, but he can’t report until he obtains a visa and isn’t officially on the roster. Defenseman Henri Jokiharju will return next week, too, after playing for Finland in the world junior championship.