Islanders Beat Blue Jackets 2-0 COLUMBUS -- The New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/players/islanders-samuel-bolduc-by-the-numbers-what-they-tell-us] made it two straight wins Saturday night as they defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 1-0 at Nationwide Arena. LINEUP: Anders Lee - Bo Horvat - Mathew Barzal Pierre Engvall - Brock Nelson - Kyle Palmieri Simon Holmstrom - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Oliver Wahlstrom Matt Martin - Casey Cizikas - Cal Clutterbuck Adam Pelech - Noah Dobson Alexander Romanov - Ryan Pulock Samuel Bolduc - Sebastian Aho Semyon Varlamov Ilya Sorokin RAPID RECAP: The Islanders were rather sharp in the first period against the Blue Jackets. Despite outshooting Columbus 14-12, Semyon Varlamov [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/game-day/semyon-varlamov-new-york-islanders-1st-start-buffalo-sabres-ilya-sorokin] had to be sharp, making a few strong backdoor saves. After Pierre Engvall [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/pierre-engvall-new-york-islanders-32-thoughts-podcast-extension] threw a puck from the boards, a softee on Spencer Martin, he failed to corral the puck as the rebound popped into the slot.' Kyle Palmieri [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/kyle-palmieri-new-york-islanders-fasching-wahlstrom-gauthier-holmstrom-johnston-lambert] read the play, hopped on the loose puck, and scored his third of the season at 15:45 of the first period. Engvall and Sebastian Aho [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/players/sebastian-aho-new-york-islanders-samuel-bolduc-scott-mayfield-lambert-analysis] were credited with the assists. Palmieri now has seven points in six games (three goals, four assists), The Islanders entered the first intermission with a 1-0 lead. The second period brought more of the same, with the Islanders outshooting Columbus 10-7 with a few prime chances to extend their league. With under 10 seconds to play in the middle frame, Brock Nelson let one go on an odd-man rush, but Martin flashed the leather. Nelson also had an in-tight re-direction earlier in the frame,e but rang the puck off the post. Varlamov remained sharp but continued to get help from his teammates, who had 14 blocks through 40 minutes. Aho slid over to block a slot shot in the final few minutes of the second. The Islanders ended the second period with some new line combinations that stuck for the start of the third: Lee-Horvat-Wahlstrom Engvall-Nelson-Palmieri Holmstrom-Pageau-Barzal Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck Varlamov stood tall in the final frame, stopping a few breakaways, one coming with under 11 minutes to play on Roslovic. The rebound deflected off an Islanders defenseman and seemed to be heading in, but Adam Pelech swiped it off the goal line. The Islanders extended their lead to 2-0 at 16:39 of the third as Matt Martin [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/game-day/matt-martin-900-game-milestone-new-york-islanders-clutterbuck-cizikas-martin-lambert] deposited a rebound for his first of the season from the low slot. Chance and goal came off a Casey Cizikas [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/casey-cizikas-new-york-islanders-300-goal-milestone-800-games-played-2023-24] shot following a Spencer Martin turnover. Varlamov stopped all 34 shots that came his way for his first shutout since Feb. 26, a 4-0 win against the Winnipeg Jets, stopping 23 shots. Martin stopped 30 of 33. The Islanders improved to 4-0-1 when scoring the first goal of a game and 3-0-0 when leading after the first period. UP NEXT: The Islanders host the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night at 7:30 PM.
