Islanders end Blue Jackets' 12-game point streak

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves for his League-leading seventh shutout of the season, and the New York Islanders ended the Columbus Blue Jackets' 12-game point streak with a 1-0 victory at UBS Arena on Sunday.

It was Sorokin's 29th shutout in the NHL. He tied Semyon Varlamov (2020-21) and Glenn Resch (1975-76) for the most shutouts in a single season in franchise history. Sorokin also had seven shutouts during the 2021-22 season.

Sorokin, who was pulled after he allowed six goals on 32 shots in a 7-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, started back-to-back games for the first time this season.

“After yesterday’s game, it was important to continue to do what I do all season,” Sorokin said. “There was nothing bigger I could do. I just tried to play simply, and the guys played behind me very well. It was a big game tonight, and we played very decently.”

Bo Horvat scored the lone goal for the Islanders (40-26-5), who had lost two in a row and were beginning a five-game homestand.

New York moved into the second wild-card spot into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

“I mean, that was probably one of the high-stress games of the year for our group,” Horvat said. “I mean, it was a hard-fought battle by everybody. Everybody was contributing tonight. All four lines were rolling, and obviously, Sorokin was phenomenal.”

Jet Greaves made 21 saves for the Blue Jackets (37-22-11), who had won four straight, including a 5-2 win against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday, and were 8-0-4 during the streak. 

Columbus is third in the Metropolitan Division, one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“Both teams played pretty. It was a pretty stingy game,” Blue Jackets forward Mathieu Olivier said. “We were both on back-to-backs. For sure, those games make a difference in the end. But I felt like we pushed really hard, and shots were even, even though the penalties were three to nothing. The quality of the ice wasn't that great. So you could tell both teams were just kind of plain, simple. It was playoff-style hockey; it's a 1-0 game. I mean, both teams probably could have scored more. Both goalies were phenomenal, I thought. And, at the end of the day, one shot makes a difference.”

Horvat gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead just 1:25 into the first period with a snap shot from the right face-off circle that went off the left post and in behind Greaves to the blocker side.

After Horvat turned the puck over in the low slot, Sorokin made a right pad save on Kirill Marchenko at 6:15 before stretching out the right pad again to stop Adam Fantilli’s rebound attempt.

Greaves gloved a Mathew Barzal wrister from the top of the crease while the Islanders were on the power play at 17:01. Then at 18:41, Simon Holmstrom hit the left post from the top of the left circle.

Barzal found Brayden Schenn cutting into the low slot, but Greaves made a point-blank save with the glove at 3:34 of the third period to keep it a one-goal deficit.

Horvat appeared to make it 2-0 at 12:06. He threw the puck on net, and the rebound deflected in off Olivier as he collided with Anders Lee into Greaves. Columbus challenged for goaltender interference, and the goal was overturned after a video review.

“Well, I trust our video coaches, Aaron and Cam, there,” Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness said. "They're looking at it, and if they tell me to challenge it, I will make the final call, right or wrong, it's my call, but I'm going to. ... If they tell me to challenge it, I trust them. I'm going to challenge it.”

Sorokin denied a Kent Johnson deflection before falling back to cover the loose puck at 17:51 to preserve the one-goal lead.

“That was a hard-fought game,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “There was not much room on the ice, and the game plan was to get our forecheck going, hunt them, especially in the neutral zone. We wanted to be more aggressive than normal, not giving them a chance to reach the net. We wanted to press them in the defensive zone. I thought we did all that. ... I guess I could go on and on for all night long about the performance of the team.”

NOTES: Sorokin (298 appearances) became the 11th goaltender to debut in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68) with 29 or more shutouts before his 300th career appearance. ... Horvat reached the 50-point mark for a fifth straight season and eighth time in his career ... Barzal played his 600th NHL game. ... The Islanders will play nine of their final 11 games on home ice.