Islanders Beat Blackhawks 2-1 After earning a back-to-back sweep, the New York Islanders (33-27-15) face the Columbus Blue Jackets (25-38-12) in their final meeting of the season. Puck drop from Nationwide Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The Islanders last faced the Blue Jackets on Dec. 7 at UBS Arena. Pierre Engvall opened the scoring for New York, but Emil Bemstrom and Adam Fantilli put Columbus ahead around the halfway mark of the game. However, the rest of the game was all Islanders, scoring five of the last six goals. Bo Horvat had a three point game with two goals, and Mathew Barzal had two goals and two helpers en route to a 7-3 win. Entering play on Thursday night, the Islanders are one point shy of the Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference and two points out of the Philadelphia Flyers for the third playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division. Philadelphia and Detroit are idle until Friday, while Washington faces the Pittsburgh Penguins. WHERE THEY'VE BEEN: The Blue Jackets earned a victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night. Both teams were scoreless in the opening frame, but Columbus sounded the cannon three times in the middle frame. Kirill Marchenko opened the scoring around the period's halfway mark, while Alex Nylander lit the lamp twice to put Columbus up 3-0 after 40 minutes. Chris Wagner scored five minutes into the third to get Colorado on the board, but Cole Sillinger iced the game away on an empty net goal, giving the Blue Jackets a 4-1 win. PLAYERS TO WATCH: Ilya Sorokin will start for New York Islanders, per head coach Patrick Roy. He will make his second-straight start and 53rd start of the season (23-19-11, 3.04 GAA, .907 SV%) after he snapped a six-game losing streak on Tuesday with 18 saves against the Chicago Blackhawks. Against Columbus, Sorokin is 4-0-2 with a 2.32 GAA and .913 SV%, dropping his last outing on March 24, 2023, allowing five goals against on 27 shots. Kyle Palmieri has goals in both meetings against the Blue Jackets this season, giving him a three-game point streak against Columbus entering Thursday's game. The forward has three goals and one assist in that span. Despite being kept off the board in their first two matchups, Brock Nelson leads the Islanders in goals against Columbus with 13. Barzal's two helpers in their last matchup gave him the lead in assists with 13, and Anders Lee tops the team in points overall with 22. Per Blue Jackets team reporter Jeff Svoboda [https://x.com/JacketsInsider/status/1775559353698865427?s=20], Daniil Tarasov is projected to make his 23rd start of the season on Thursday (8-11-3, 3.14 GAA, .909 SV%). He earned the win against Colorado with 45 saves his last time out; Thursday marks his first career start against New York. Nylander, acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins before the Trade Deadline, has impressed for Columbus. After his two goal game against Colorado, he has 10 goals and three assists in 17 appearances with the Blue Jackets. Bemstrom, who had two points in their last meeting, was part of the return to the Penguins. Boone Jenner, Columbus' All-Star nominee, leads the team in goals with 22 on the season. Despite a slow start, Johnny Gaudreau has recovered to lead the team in assists and points with 45 and 56, respectively. Both have also made their mark against the Islanders, with Jenner scoring a team-best six goals and Gaudreau leading the team with 12 helpers and 17 points. NEW YORK ISLANDERS PROJECTED LINES: Casey Cizikas -- Bo Horvat -- Mathew Barzal Pierre Engvall -- Brock Nelson -- Kyle Palmieri Anders Lee -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Hudson Fasching Matt Martin -- Kyle MacLean -- Cal Clutterbuck Alexander Romanov -- Noah Dobson Adam Pelech -- Ryan Pulock Mike Reilly -- Robert Bortuzzo Semyon Varlamov Ilya Sorokin COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS PROJECTED LINES: Johnny Gaudreau -- Dmitri Voronkov -- Alex Nylander Alexandre Texier -- Cole Sillinger -- Kirill Marchenko Mikael Pyyhtia -- Brendan Gaunce -- Mathieu Olivier James Malatesta -- Justin Danforth -- Carson Meyer Zach Werenski -- Damon Severson Ivan Provorov -- Erik Gudbranson Jake Bean -- David Jiricek Daniil Tarasov Jet Greaves *Combinations are subject to change. Blue Jackets team writer Jeff Svoboda reported that multiple players are under the weather, and changes are possible [https://x.com/JacketsInsider/status/1775905554910560345?s=20]. HOW TO WATCH: Thursday night's game will air on MSGSN. On the radio, the game will air on 88.7 FM WRHU, 103.9 LI News Radio, and 1050 AM ESPN.
