Islanders end losing streak with strong win over Winnipeg Jets
Islanders players celebrate a goal by center Mathew Barzal in the second period of an NHL game against the Jets at UBS Arena on Saturday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The long-absent smiles and good vibes that permeated the Islanders’ dressing room after they dominated the Jets on Saturday were transitory and wholly contingent on having the same kind of performance against the Devils on Sunday.
“There’s tons of urgency at this time of the year, especially the position we’ve put ourselves in,” defenseman Noah Dobson said. “Every game, we’ve got to play with the same urgency and come flying out of the gate. It’s going to be important to do the same thing tomorrow.”
The Islanders opened a five-goal lead and snapped their 0-5-1 skid — which has nearly irreparably damaged their playoff hopes — with an impressive 6-3 win over the playoff-bound Jets at UBS Arena. The Devils will visit on Sunday.
“It just felt like we were engaged and we were on our toes,” said Cal Clutterbuck, who gave the Islanders a quick 2-0 lead with a goal at the crease at 5:22 of the first period and a blistering wrister from the left circle off the rush at 8:50. “We made a commitment to playing north. We made a commitment to putting pucks at the net and winning battles to get there. When we do that, we’re a good team.”
The Islanders (30-25-15) remained six points behind the Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
“We know where we’re at in the standings,” said goalie Sem-yon Varlamov, who stopped 32 shots in his third start in 14 games. “We know every game is important for us the rest of the season.”
The Islanders scored three goals in each of the first two periods, taking a 6-1 lead when Anders Lee spun at the crease to beat Laurent Brossoit (12 saves) at 15:32 of the second period. Connor Hellebuyck started for the Jets (44-21-5), but the Vezina Trophy winner from 2020 was chased after allowing five goals on 27 shots.
The Islanders held a 15-3 shot advantage in the first period, taking a 3-1 lead when Kyle Palmieri finished a rush off Brock Nelson’s cross-ice feed at 15:47.
“Our habits today, in the first two periods especially, we were playing like when we were on that six-game winning streak [Feb. 26-March 10] and we were playing like a team that is desperate and playing like a team that can compete with anybody,” said Mathew Barzal, who got to the crease to make it 5-1 at 9:11 of the second period and added two assists.
“I thought those were two of our best periods all year against a good hockey team. We’ve just got to keep that going.”
Coach Patrick Roy again altered his lines and defensive pairs, dropping struggling defenseman Alexander Romanov to the third pair with Robert Bortuzzo while Mike Reilly skated with Ryan Pulock. Up front, Roy reinserted Matt Martin onto rookie Kyle MacLean’s fourth line. Casey Cizikas was elevated to the third line to play on Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s left wing, with Pierre Engvall sliding to the right side. Simon Holmstrom came out of the lineup for the first time since Oct. 21.
Roy kept Barzal, a natural center, as the second-line pivot for the second straight game between Lee and Hudson Fasching. Fasching responded with his first career three-point game, getting to the crease for a 4-1 lead at 1:51 of the second period.
“Right off the hop, there was so much energy,” Fasching said. “We caught them sleeping a little bit. I felt we punched them in the nose and they could just never recover. If I were them, I’d be very frustrated to never have time with the puck. We were in their face.”
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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