The New York Islanders defeated the Winnipeg Jets in dominant fashion 6-3 on Saturday afternoon, snapping a six-game skid.
The New York Islanders defeated the Winnipeg Jets in dominant fashion 6-3 on Saturday afternoon.
It was a much-needed bounce-back win for the Islanders, who ended their six-game losing streak.
Semyon Varlamov was the winning goaltender, stopping 33 of 36 Jets shots. Connor Hellebucyk was chased out of the Jets net midway through the second period after giving up five goals on 26 Islander shots.
Laurent Brossoit gave up one goal in relief and made 12 saves.
Cal Clutterbuck scored two goals in the game, and Hudson Fasching recorded his first three-point game in his NHL career, along with the eventual game-winning goal.
Here's how it happened:
There was 5:18 of straight play to start the game without a whistle. Hellebuyck made a save and covered the puck.
On the second faceoff of the game, MacLean played the puck forward, and the Jets fumbled it back to the crease. Clutterbuck slid the puck past Hellebuyck on a second shot attempt.
The time of the goal was 5:22, putting the Islanders up 1-0 before the Jets registered a shot on goal.
Clutterbuck wasn't done this afternoon, as he scored his second goal of the first period just 3:28 later to make it 2-0 in favor of the Islanders. Romanov played the puck up to Martin, who made a terrific east-to-west pass to Clutterbuck before No. 15 walked into the zone and sniped the puck glove side:
Namestnikov's goal made the score 2-1 on what was the Jets' second shot of the game, an unfortunate break for the Islanders. Barron and DeMelo assisted on the goal.
A perfect zone entry for the Islanders helped them regain their two-goal lead. Horvat skated in and dropped the puck for Nelson, who sent it across to Palmieri, who sent the puck into the toy department:
The goal made it 3-1 with 4:13 remaining in the first period. That score would hold into the first intermission.
New York was the better team in the first, with many more shots, leading 15-5 over Winnipeg in the opening period.
Just 1:51 into the second period, Fasching gave the Islanders a three-goal lead. He was alone in front after receiving a pass from Barzal, his 50th assist of the season:
For Fasching, it's his fourth goal of the year, and the Islanders took a 4-1 lead. Ryan Pulock tallied the secondary assist.
Barzal got in on the scoring after a tremendous shift in the offensive zone from his line. Chaos ensued around the net, with Fasching and Lee both poking for the puck. Barzal was the one to find it and tap it into the net while in the crease:
Fasching and Dobson were credited with the assists in the goal that got Hellebucyk pulled at a 5-1 score.
Kyle MacLean dropped the gloves with Barron in what was his first NHL fight.
Lee scored another goal that came quickly off the draw for the Islanders. Lee spun and fired the puck around Brossoit to make it 6-1. Barzal and Fasching assisted with 4:28 left in the second:
The Jets came close to scoring a goal in the final 30 seconds of the second period, but Varlamov and the Islanders defense shut the door and took the 6-1 lead into the intermission.
The Islanders nearly doubled the Jets in shots during the second period, taking a whopping 23 compared to Winnipeg's 12.
Winnipeg scored their second goal of the game with 12:23 to go. Mason Appleton fired home a rebound from Nikolaj Ehlers' initial shot to make the score 6-2. Josh Morrissey tallied the secondary assist.
For the first time in the game the Islanders had to go to the penalty kill with just under five minutes left to play. They killed it off but gave up a goal shortly after.
Cole Perfetti ripped a shot through traffic and beat Varlamov high to make it 6-3 with just 2:10 to go in the game.
After a dominant 40 minutes and shaky final 20 minutes while in the lead, the Islanders secured the 6-3 win.
UP NEXT: The Islanders host the New Jersey Devils on Sunday night at 5 PM.