Takeaways: Islanders Shut Out Blue Jackets 1-0 in Tense Battle

Exhale.

The New York Islanders earned an important two points in a 1-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday night at UBS Arena.

Bo Horvat scored the lone goal in the contest, while Ilya Sorokin made all 26 saves for his league-leading seventh shutout of the season. Jet Greaves stopped 21 of 22 in the loss for Columbus.

“The last minute was tough, and the last five minutes were tough,” Sorokin said. “But when the game was finished it was a big breath after.”

The contest had high stakes, as the Islanders (85 points) and the Blue Jackets (85 points) entered the game two points apart in the standings, but the Isles were on a mission to close that gap. While the Islanders couldn’t pass the Blue Jackets, they were able to get back into a playoff spot, leapfrogging the Detroit Red Wings (84 points) for the second Wild Card berth. They also snapped a two-game losing streak in the process, washing away Saturday’s 7-3 loss in Montreal.

“It was such a great effort from everybody tonight,” Horvat said. “We definitely weren’t happy with our last performance and we knew how big this game was. The crowd was behind us, they were buzzing early.”

In addition to handling their own business, they got a little help in the standings, as the Pittsburgh Penguins (86 points) dropped a 5-1 decision to the Carolina Hurricanes earlier in the day.

TAKEAWAYS

• The Islanders were looking to bounce back after a 7-3 loss to Montreal the night before and a last-minute 3-2 loss to Ottawa on Thursday, and they got it done with a low-scoring, tense battle. Head Coach Patrick Roy didn’t view the game as his team “holding on,” yet a game where they were aggressive through 60 minutes.

“We didn’t hold onto the lead at all. We forechecked. We kept pressing them,” Roy said. “The only thing we did a little bit different was we made few turnovers Other than that we did not change our game.”

• Up 1-0, the Islanders thought they scored midway through the third period, as Horvat put the puck on net and with Lee in a scramble in the crease, the puck found the back of the net but it was disallowed for goalie interference. Despite the frustration that naturally comes with a disallowed goal at a crucial point of the game, the Islanders stayed focused.

“A disallowed goal, that’s a stinger,” Horvat said. “But we never stopped fighting. Every line was going and contributing in some type of way. Sorokin was phenomenal again.”

• Sorokin made key saves late in the game – namely, one on Severson with two minutes left and stopping a Marchenko shot after a flurry around the net. Sorokin had to be sharp early. He swallowed Damon Severson’s shot right after Horvat’s goal, while he made two saves in quick succession from Kirill Marchenko and Adam Fantilli.

• Sorokin, who started in back-to-back games for the first time of the season, is 7-4-0 in his career in the second half of back-to-backs. Sorokin said that his mindset was to keep his game simple, focus on the first period and avoiding overthinking.

“Today I feel better than yesterday,” Sorokin said. “Usually it works like that, I don’t know why it’s like this.”

• With his seventh shutout of the season, Sorokin tied the single-season team record with Semyon Varlamov, who reached seven shutouts in 2021, Chico Resch in 1976 and himself in 2022.

• The only offense of the game came from Horvat, who took control of a bouncing puck at the blueline, charged the net in alone and fired a shot through Greaves to open the scoring 1:25 into the game. Horvat recorded his eighth career 50-point season with his 29^th goal of the season. 
• Ritchie crashed into the boards behind the net early in the first period but he returned before the first period ended. 
• Anthony Duclair and Ryan Pulock missed the game with lower-body injuries. As a result, Adam Boqvist drew into the lineup and skated 12:03 TOI on a pair with Scott Mayfield, while Kyle MacLean slotted in on a line with Casey Cizikas and Marc Gatcomb.
• Mathew Barzal skated in his 600^th career NHL game on Sunday.
• Cizikas went 10-for-12 in the dot.
• Carson Soucy played 18:55 TOI, marking his highest ice time as an Islander. He blocked a team-high five shots.

NEXT GAME

The Islanders continue their five-game homestand with a matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night. Puck drop is at 7PM.