5 Takeaways: Islanders 4, Devils 1

The New York Islanders took care of business on Thursday night, using a strong first and third periods to skate to a 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils at Nassau Coliseum.
Mathew Barzal (1G, 2A) led the Islanders with three points, while Jordan Eberle (2G) and Noah Dobson (2A) each had two-point games. Brock Nelson scored a power-play goal while Semyon Varlamov stopped 30-of-31 shots in the win.
Here are five takeaways from a methodical Islanders win.

Video: Eberle scores two as Islanders defeat Devils, 4-1

BIG GAMES FOR BARZAL AND EBERLE:

The Islanders top line led the way on Thursday night, as Mathew Barzal (1G, 2A), Jordan Eberle (2G) and Anders Lee (1A) combined for six points in the win.
The line paced the group from puck drop, combining for eight of the Islanders 15 shots in the first period, with Barzal and Eberle each finding the back of the net to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead.
Barzal opened the scoring at 4:43, picking up the puck at the Islanders blue line, turning on the jets and snipping top corner past Scott Wedgewood for his second goal of the season. Barzal finished the period with a goal, an assist and four shots, marking another inspired offensive effort from the 23-year-old.

The ice was tilted in the Islanders' favor for a majority of the period, with long stretches of zone time in the Devils end. It seemed as if the Islanders weren't going to be rewarded for their effort, but Eberle extended the lead with 20.9 seconds to play in the opening frame.
It was another pretty effort from the top line, as Barzal intercepted a Devils drop pass, and head manned the puck to Lee, who sprung Eberle on a breakaway. Eberle roofed a textbook backhand by Wedgewood for his first tally of the season to send the Islanders to room up two.
"Getting that late goal was good. I thought we had enough chances and zone time that we should have maybe had that second goal," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "It was our checking that turned into an opportunity which we were able to capitalize on."
The top line's offensive push continued into the second period, as Lee clanked a wrister off the iron. The trio found their way onto the scoresheet again in the third, as Eberle scored his second goal of the night, collecting a Noah Dobson rebound off the lively Coliseum end boards and converting from the sharp angle.
Thee line combined for 10 shots (Barzal - 5, Eberle - 4, Lee - 1) on the evening.
ISLANDERS VS DEVILS
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Full Highlights
Eberle's Breakaway Backhand
Barzal Snipes Top Corner
Eberle's PPG
Nelson's PPG
Postgame: Trotz
Postgame: Dobson & Nelson
Postgame: Barzal & Eberle
Postgame: Greene
KINGER'S CALLS
Barzal's Snipe
Eberle's Breakaway
Eberle's PPG
Nelson's PPG
"You want to get off to a good start, you put the puck in once and you start to feel it, especially when you get into game three, four and five, you want to contribute," Eberle said. "My linemates created a few chances, we've had some good looks the past few games and hit a few posts. It's nice that we finished a few off today."

POWER PLAY SCORES TWICE:

Despite a dominant first period, a Devils push in the second had the teams mired in a one-goal game entering the third, with the Islanders holding a 2-1 lead.
Instead of sitting back and grinding out a defensive third, the Islanders continued to attack - hitting two posts in the opening minutes - before their power play laid down the hammer.
The Islanders scored on back-to-back power plays, extending their lead to 4-1, effectively icing the game. Eberle scored on the first power play, off a Dobson rebound off the end wall at 1:56. Dobson's assist was his second of the night, marking his first-career two-point game, while Barzal picked up his third point of the night on the sequence.
Dobson, who finished the game with 2:56 PP/TOI - tied with Ryan Pulock for the most among d-men - earned praise from his teammates for his work on the PP unit and for a solid game. Dobson finished the night with two assists, six shot attempts and seven blocked shots.
"He's a great skater, he's got good vision, he's got a great skill set too," Eberle said of Dobson. "With Noah, you're going to see him just continue to get better and better. He was here last year, but he's filling into a role this year where he's in ever night. He's getting a lot of opportunities. As his confidence grows and as he continues to play more he's just going to get better and better."
New York followed up with a second power-play goal just 3:20 later. Brock Nelson, who was sporting a large cut on the right side of his face after colliding with PK Subban's knee and getting stitches, deflected a Nick Leddy shot in the high slot past Wedgewood at 5:16.
The Islanders power play finished two-for-three on the evening, while the penalty kill was a perfect one-for-one, upping the Islanders season total to 17-for-18.

BAILEY PLAYS:

Josh Bailey was in the lineup for Thursday's game, one day after missing practice due to COVID-19 protocols.
It's unclear why Bailey was placed on the list on Wednesday, as the spectrum ranges from a positive test to suspected exposure, but the Islanders forward was good to go vs the Devils.
While the Islanders received good news on the Bailey front, it served as another reminder of how diligent teams need to be this season. Washington will be without four star players for four games due to a positive test plus exposure, Carolina has been forced to postpone games, and Dallas has yet to start their season due to COVID.
"It was a relief because he's a really important player for us," Trotz said. "We had a plan A and a plan B set up. He's such an important player for us in every facet of our game. He's one of the most respected guys and leaders. Having him and finding out that he was fine, we did all the right things through the NHL protocol and he did all of the right things. We got a good result tonight. We were ready. We know that we're going to have challenges and that we're going to have to make some last-minute decisions. We're going to be organized, have a plan for almost every situation that is thrown at us and be adaptable."

BLACKWOOD OUT, WEDGEWOOD:

While Josh Bailey came off the COVID protocol list, Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood was a late addition to on Thursday.
It appeared to be good fortune for the Islanders, as Blackwood was off to a blazing start to the season. As a result, Scott Wedgewood started his first NHL game since Feb. 13, 2018 and the Islanders were ready to test him early, peppering the Devils' goaltender with 15 first period shots.
Wedgewood settled in as the game went on and kept the Devils in a lopsided first period. The journeyman goaltender robbed Anthony Beauvillier off the rush early in the first came up with a pair of key stops on Matt Martin, the first off a point-blank chance early in the second and another off a two-on-one feed from Brock Nelson.
It was hard to fault Wedgewood on either of the power-play goals. The goaltender finished the game with 31 saves.

VARLAMOV STREAK ENDS:

Semyon Varlamov's two-game shutout streak came to an end in the second period of Thursday's contest, after allowing a mid-range wrister from Nathan Bastian at 2:10.
Varlamov's shutout streak ended at 1:42:10, the longest clean sheet to start a season in franchise history. Bastian's goal was the lone blemish on Varlamov's night, as the goaltender turned in 30 saves to improve to 3-0-0.
The Islanders' goaltender had to be sharp early in the second, as New Jersey started the period with a 9-1 shot advantage in the opening five minutes. The Devils outshot the Islanders 13-9 in the middle frame, not including Lee's shot off the post.
Armed with a 4-1 lead early in the third, Varlamov was solid the rest of the way, stopping all 11 shots he faced in the final frame.
"The last two years he's been consistent the whole way through," Barzal said. "I don't think there's been a stretch where he hasn't played well, so to start the season it's nice to see him come back and dominate in net, he just looks calm and we feel real secure with him in the pipes."

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders and Devils meet again on Sunday night in Newark. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.