Islanders Practicing Power Play NEWARK, NJ -- With a 4-1 win against the New Jersey Devils, the New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/new-york-islanders-power-play-noah-dobson-mathew-barzal-bo-horvat-brock-nelson-patrick-roy-2024-stanley-cup-playoffs] have clinched a spot in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. After going on a 7-0-1 run, the Islanders have locked up the third seed in the Metropolitan Division and are likely to play the Carolina Hurricanes in the opening round. We will update this story after the conclusion of New York Rangers vs. Ottawa Senators game. If the Rangers win, Islanders are guaranteed Carolina. Islanders netminder Semyon Varlamov stopped 23 of 24 to extend his personal winning streak to six games. Here's how it happened: It took the Islanders 12:22 to record their first shot of the game. The shot, however, resulted in the first goal of the game, with Jean-Gabriel Pageau burying a 2-on-1 saucer pass from Pierre Engvall. Anders Lee set the play up with a great clear off the glass to Engvall to start the breakout: With the Islanders on the power play, after Kyle MacLean drew a tripping penalty, New York took a 2-0 lead with 3:08 left in the first. Mike Reilly's shot from the point was tipped past Allen by Kyle Palmieri, scoring against his former team with his 29th goal of the season: Brock Nelson earned the secondary assist. Palmieri is now one goal shy of his career-high of 30, which he recorded with the Devils in 2015-16. That goal was also the Islanders' first power-play goal in X attempts. The Islanders, who led 2-0 after 20 minutes, were outshot 8-5. Early in the second, MacLean was alone on a breakaway and rang a shot off the right post. Shortly after, the Devils capitalized on a rare Varlamov mistake and scored their first goal of the game 3:25 into the second period after he couldn't catch a Jesper Bratt wrist shot. Timo Meier was in the right place at the right time to score the rebound: Nico Hischier was credited with the secondary assist. Nelson restored the Islanders two-goal, making it a 3-1 game with 8:12 left in the second period. Fasching got the puck to Nelson from behind the net, who then scored from the low slot: Palmieri tallied his second point of the night with the secondary assist: Engvall appeared to be shaken up in the corner in the second period's final 30 seconds, limping off the ice and down the tunnel. The Islanders still led by two after two periods, by a score of 3-1. In a low-shot contest, the Islanders had four in the second, with the Devils tallying nine. MacLean jammed the puck past Allen 6:17 into the third period to put the Islanders ahead by 4-1. Lee powered through the defense to get the puck across to MacLean: MacLean's goal was his first goal in his home state. Lee and Engvall recorded their second assists of the night. UP NEXT: The Islanders host the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final game of the regular season. LINES: Cizikas-Horvat-Barzal Fasching-Nelson-Palmieri Lee-Pageau-Engvall Martin-Maclean-Clutterbuck Pelech-Pulock Romanov-Aho Reilly-Bortuzzo Varlamov Sorokin
