3 Takeaways: Isles Get Back on Track with 6-3 Win Over Jets

The New York Islanders busted out of their six-game slump in a big way on Saturday, skating to a 6-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets at UBS Arena.

Mathew Barzal (1G, 2A) and Hudson Fasching (1G, 2A) each had three-point games, while Cal Clutterbuck (2G), Kyle Palmieri and Anders Lee (1G, 1A) scored, as the Isles beat up on the Central Division contending Jets.

The six-goal game matched the Isles goal total from the previous six games combined, where they were outscored 28-6. In the process, the Isles chased likely Vezina Trophy finalist Connor Hellebuyck, who stopped 21-of-26 before being pulled in favor of Laurent Brossoit (12 saves). Semyon Varlamov stopped 32 of 35 in the win.

“That's exactly what we were hoping to see,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said. “Sometimes you don't get rewarded for what you do, today we were.”

Vladislav Namestnikov, Mason Appleton and Cole Perfetti scored for the Jets, who dropped their second straight game.

With the win the Isles improve to 75 points, but they still trail the Philadelphia Flyers (81 points) by six points for third place in the Metropolitan Division, as Philly pulled out a 3-2 win over Boston on Saturday afternoon. The Isles are three points back of the Detroit Red Wings (78 points) for the second Wild Card, though Detroit is scheduled to play on Saturday evening.

“Big win for us. We'll enjoy it here for about half hour and then when we leave this rink today, it's all about tomorrow,” Barzal said. “We have such a singular focus right now on every game and that's really just our mindset. Every game is so big for us in the standings and staying alive... massive win for us.”

ISLANDERS JUMP ON JETS WITH STRONG START:

The Islanders came out with a purpose on Saturday afternoon, racking up a 3-1 lead over the Jets in the first period, while outshooting the Jets 15-3.

They looked hungry and it was a second effort that led to Clutterbuck’s first goal at 5:22, as the winger pounced on a puck after an offensive zone draw, drove the net and tucked in his own rebound. Clutterbuck was feeling it henceforth and 3:28 later snapped a wrister high past Hellebuyck. It marked Clutterbuck’s ninth-career, two-goal game.

“You can't really describe how much that can fire up a bench, a guy like that getting two goals early,” Barzal said of Clutterbuck’s two tallies.

“As a team we came out hot, we came out rolling and we had kind of dominated the game in the early section,” Fasching said. “We just kind of used that momentum to keep rolling.”

The Isles were outshooting Winnipeg 10-1 at the midpoint of the period, but Vladislav Namestnikov got loose and slipped a breakaway under Semyon Varlamov at 11:20 on the Jets’ second shot of the game.

Instead of letting the Jets swing the momentum back – goals in bunches hurt the Isles in Thursday’s loss to Detroit – the Islanders built on their lead, with Kyle Palmieri scoring his 23^rd goal of the season at 15:47. Palmieri also made a big defensive play prior to the goal, fishing a loose puck out of the crease after an Adam Lowry chance that could have tied the game for the Jets and changed the complexion of the contest.

“We were not fancy. We were putting pucks deep. We were putting pucks at the net. We were playing very north,” Roy said. “From our breakout our neutral zone regroup, we moved the puck quick. We put the puck deep and put pressure on their D and held onto the puck a lot in the first two periods.”

LEE-BARZAL-FASCHING LINE THRIVES VS JETS:

The new-look line of Anders Lee-Mathew Barzal-Hudson Fasching created chances on Thursday night.

On Saturday, that line created goals.

The line scored all three Islanders goals in the second period, racking up eight total points for the trio.

“When we're all doing our jobs, it can be a pretty dynamic line,” Barzal said. “They are two big bodies that can hold the puck down low and if I can get some space and find them it's got a good chance to go in the net.”

Fasching put the Isles ahead 4-1, taking a cross-ice feed from Barzal before cutting across the net to score around an outstretched Hellebuyck at 1:51.

That line struck again midway through the period, with Barzal poking in a loose puck after his line created some havoc around the net, another example of an effort play from a desperate Isles team. Barzal’s goal was his 22^nd of the season, which tied the career-high he set in his rookie year. That ended Hellebuyck’s night.

Lee’s goal at 15:32 rounded out the scoring for the line and put the Isles ahead 6-1. All three players got in on the goal, as Barzal won the face-off, with Fasching keeping possession by working the puck to the point. After getting the puck back, Fasching dished to Barzal who fed Lee down low and the captain spun around to beat Brossoit.

“It's fun to see our guys be rewarded by doing those things sometimes,” Roy said of the line playing a simple game. “It doesn't have to be a tic tac toe like was the Palmieri goal. Sometimes it's just throw [the puck] at the net and find ways to get that rebound and score maybe a different way.”

For Fasching, Saturday marked his first-career three-point game and for the Islanders, the second period was a nice bounce back from some recent second period struggles. The Jets made a push in the third period, outshooting the Isles 18-3, but the Isles had enough of an advantage to ride out the game and seal the win.

LINE CHANGES:

Matt Martin re-entered the lineup after missing Thursday’s game as a healthy scratch, replacing Simon Holmstrom.

Martin skated on a line with Kyle MacLean and Cal Clutterbuck, while Casey Cizikas played with JG Pageau and Pierre Engvall.

Patrick Roy mixed up two of his d-pairs, putting Mike Reilly and Ryan Pulock together, while Alex Romanov skated with Robert Bortuzzo.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders wrap up a back-to-back on Sunday afternoon against the New Jersey Devils. Puck drop is at 5 p.m.