Islanders win third straight, beat Blue Jackets on goals by Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Mathew Barzal
Jean-Gabriel Pageau #44 of the New York Islanders celebrates his second period goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets with teammate Hudson Fasching #20 and Sebastian Aho #25 at UBS Arena on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Performances don’t need to be flashy to be effective. The Islanders are much more comfortable when they’re just being workmanlike.
“I think we’re accustomed to playing those type of games the last three, four years,” Matt Martin said. “I wouldn’t call ourselves a run-and-gun team. We like to control the game, limit the chances and try to capitalize on ours.”
Check, check and check.
The Islanders completed a sweep of a three-game homestand with an efficient 2-1 win over the struggling Blue Jackets on Thursday night at UBS Arena, leapfrogging the Rangers to move back into the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Islanders (21-14-2) allowed just a goal apiece in their three home wins, snapped a lengthy power-play drought on Thursday and got an opportunistic goal from Jean-Gabriel Pageau off a defensive takeaway.
“It’s been a couple of games now, we’re playing the way we want,” said Pageau, who had a goal and an assist. “We’re all playing a role and we’re competing a lot for the full 60.
“We all look at the standings. We all know how tight it is and we need points. We want to keep climbing. Playing at home, with our fans that are crazy, we take it as an advantage.”
Ilya Sorokin’s bid for a fourth shutout this season was spoiled with 20.5 seconds left in regulation as Emil Bemstrom tipped defenseman Marcus Bjork’s shot with the Blue Jackets skating six-on-five. Sorokin (20 saves) was in net for all three wins on the homestand as he snapped a personal seven-game losing streak.
The injury-depleted Islanders started Hudson Fasching on top-line center Mathew Barzal’s right wing. He finished on Pageau’s third line with Casey Cizikas, usually the fourth-line center, being elevated to Barzal’s line. Aatu Raty, in his third NHL game, again centered the fourth line, which included Ross Johnston, inserted into the lineup for the first time since Nov. 29.
Parker Wotherspoon continued to fill in for injured defenseman Adam Pelech.
The numerous lineup changes throughout the homestand seemed seamless.
“Up and down the organization we’ve got quality people,” coach Lane Lambert said. “The coaches in Bridgeport [AHL] have done a great job of preparing them and getting them ready so when they do come here, the transition can be seamless for them. They’ve done a really good job, both the players and the coaching staff.”
The Blue Jackets (10-22-2) also have a lengthy injury list that includes Patrik Laine, Boone Jenner, Jakub Voracek and defenseman Zach Werenski. They have lost seven straight, have been outscored 26-10 in that stretch and dropped to 2-11-1 on the road.
Joonas Korpisalo stopped 34 shots.
The Islanders notched their first power-play goal since Dec. 9 as Brock Nelson fed Barzal for a one-timer from the left circle to make it 2-0 at 16:39 of the second period. They had gone 0-for-25 on the power play in the previous eight games and failed on their two first-period man-advantage chances, generating only two shots.
“There was an execution side of things, but I don’t think it was necessarily a personnel thing,” Anders Lee said. “It was some execution, some bounces. In a long season, sometimes you go through a little bit of a dry spell. We went through one and maybe it was a little bit longer than we would have liked.”
Pageau opened the scoring at 7:12 of the second period, stuffing in the rebound of Fasching’s initial shot. Pageau had swiped the puck away from defenseman Adam Boqvist at the Islanders’ blue line and carried the puck up ice on the rush.
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.
