The New York Islanders ended their two-game skid with a commanding 4-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks at UBS Arena.
Marcus Hogberg's standout performance helped the New York Islanders to a 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks, and improved his season record to 2-2-0.
He has now given up just six goals in six games, and the Islanders improved to 8-11-2 on home ice at UBS Arena and 18-20-7 on the season.
Maxim Tsyplakov served the first game of his three-game suspension following his hit on Ryan Poehling during the Islanders' 5-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
Simon Holmstrom returned to the lineup after missing the last seven games with an upper-body injury he sustained on Dec. 29.
Alexander Romanov also returned to the lineup after missing the last three games with an upper-body injury he sustained on Jan. 9.
Hogberg returned to the Islanders net for his fourth start of the season.
Alexander Georgiev faced the Islanders for the second time this season but first as a member of the Sharks. In his previous meeting on Oct. 14, he allowed five goals on 36 shots in a 6-2 loss while playing for the Colorado Avalanche.
Here's how the game unfolded:
A physical opening few minutes led Noah Dobson to score what he thought to be the game's opening goal at 9:06.
Marc Gatcomb drove to the net and Dobson found the rebound, but goaltender interference was immediately called since Kyle MacLean knocked into Georgiev.
Soon after, Mathew Barzal drew the game's first penalty with a holding call on Ty Dellandrea.
The Isles failed to convert but had multiple quality looks courtesy of some impressive cross-ice passes.
In the opening frame's final minutes, an Alexander Romanov shot hit the post on Georgiev's blocker side and produced a juicy rebound, but the puck was cleared and the period ended scoreless.
The Islanders did not allow a Sharks' shot in the final 7:09 of the period, ultimately outshooting San Jose 10-4.
The start of the second period was all Islanders, but a Ryan Pulock interference penalty slowed the team's momentum.
Despite being shorthanded, the Islanders generated the best scoring chance, as Brock Nelson and Bo Horvat combined for a shot from just inside the left hash mark.
Georgiev turned away the attempt, and the Sharks finally managed their first shot on goal after more than 10 minutes of game time.
The kill was the Islanders' 10th consecutive successful penalty kill.
Just over a minute after Simon Holmstrom knocked the puck off of rookie phenom Macklin Celebrini’s stick on a breakaway attempt, Barzal stole the puck from Jake Walman in the defensive zone and raced down the ice.
He went from forehand-backhand before sliding the puck past Georgiev for the game's opening goal.
This was his sixth goal of the season and sixth point in his prior six games.
The Islanders' lead was short-lived, as a shot from Barclay Goodrow deflected off Romanov's stick, creating a knuckleball effect that found its way past Hogberg to tie the game at 10:02.
It marked Goodrow’s third goal of the season and his first in 26 games.
With the score tied at 1, the Islanders responded quickly as Nelson buried a pass from Kyle Palmieri just 40 seconds later for his 13th goal of the season.
With this goal, Nelson claimed sole possession of fifth place on the Islanders' all-time goals list with 287, passing Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter, who was inducted into the Islanders Hall of Fame prior to the game.
Up 2-1 in the final minute of the second period, Dobson fed Horvat to clear the defensive zone and followed up the play.
Horvat fed Barzal who promptly teed up Dobson for a slapshot, which deflected off defenseman Henry Thrun and beat Georgiev at 19:33.
It marked Dobson’s sixth goal of the season and first since Dec. 21 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Islanders outshot the Sharks 14-7 in the second period.
Just over a minute into the third period, a Pulock slapshot beat Georgiev clean to give the Islanders a 4-1 lead.
This was Pulock's third goal of the season. Anthony Duclair and Nelson each recorded assists on the play.
The two teams exchanged chances throughout the remainder of the third period, but Hogberg stood tall, stopping all eight shots he faced.
He finished the night with 18 saves on 19 shots. The Islanders outshot the Sharks 31 to 19 en route to the 4-1 victory.
UP NEXT: The Islanders seven-game homestand continues on Monday night at 7:30 PM ET against the Columbus Blue Jackets.