Islanders defeat Devils for fifth straight victory

NEW YORK -- Thomas Greiss made 35 saves for his first shutout of the season, and the New York Islanders won their fifth consecutive game by defeating the New Jersey Devils 3-0 at Barclays Center on Saturday.

Jordan Eberle, Brock Nelson and Scott Mayfield scored, and Josh Bailey had two assists for the Islanders (8-4-1), who are 6-0-0 against the Metropolitan Division this season.
"We're very structured this year, playing well as a team and everyone is chipping in," Greiss said. "It's always nice when you don't give up five or six goals a night. It's going well and everyone is happy. We're enjoying hockey right now."
WATCH: [All Devils vs. Islanders highlights]
Eberle gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead when he scored off a power-play rebound at the left post 7:43 into the first period. Eberle has goals in each of his past three games.
"I had quite a few chances again so you want to try and maintain things that are giving you success," Eberle said. "We've been finding the back of the net, so you just want to keep doing that."
Nelson finished off a 2-on-1 with Bailey by scoring his seventh goal of the season on a wrist shot from the right circle for a 2-0 lead at 15:06 of the third period.

Bailey's assists extended his point streak to eight games (two goals, nine assists). He leads New York with 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) in 13 games.
"I have the same mindset as the team right now," Bailey said. "I just turn the page after each game and get ready for the next one. When you get on these streaks as a team, and individually, you want to ride them for as long as you can but it's about staying [on an] even keel, not thinking too much about it and preparing the same way you do every game."
Mayfield scored shorthanded with a length-of-the-ice shot into an empty net at 19:46.
Greiss earned his ninth career NHL shutout and first since making 45 saves in a 3-0 win at the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 16. His best save came 8:11 into the second period, when he got his stick on a shot by Taylor Hall on a 2-on-0 breakaway with Kyle Palmieri.

"I was just trying to stay with [Hall] and not give him much," Greiss said. "You just play it and see what happens. As a goalie, you wait and let him make the move."
Keith Kinkaid made 30 saves for the Devils (5-5-1), who have lost the first three games of a seven-game road trip. New Jersey is 1-5-1 in its past seven games after starting the season 4-0-0. Hall, who finished with three shots on goal, had his nine-game point streak end.
"It's weird to say but we'd almost rather take that game than playing [bad] and winning," Hall said. "Sometimes you have to go through this during a season and find your game. Find an example of how you need to play night in and night out. Sometimes results are going to come and sometimes you're going to play crappy and win. Right now, we'll take the way we played tonight."
The Islanders were 1-for-4 on the power play. The Devils finished 0-for-4 and were shut out for the first time this season.

They said it

"This game was different than the past two losses (at Tampa Bay and at Detroit), where we were outworked. We felt like we did good things, played more of the game we want to play. Now it's building on that and finding a way to put the puck in the net and tighten up special teams. We didn't get any reward for the work we put into the game tonight." -- Devils coach John Hynes
"When you get the results you're looking for it adds to that confidence, and I think our staff does a great job preparing us. I think there's a belief within our group that we can win every night, and we take the same approach every game. We'll turn the page after this one and get ready for the next one." -- Islanders forward Josh Bailey

Need to know

The Devils placed forward Stefan Noesen (upper body) on injured reserve, retroactive to Oct. 30. ... Devils forward
Brett Seney
had one shot on goal and won 6-of-10 face-offs in 11:00 of ice time in his NHL debut. ... Islanders captain Anders Lee had one assist and has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in his past seven games. ... Nelson has seven points (six goals, one assist) in his past seven games. ... Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk played his 600th NHL game. ... The Islanders won their first six games against divisional opponents to start a season for the second time in franchise history. They began the 1982-83 season 6-0-0 against opponents in the Patrick Division.

What's next

Devils: At the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday (7 p.m. ET; ATTSN-PT, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Islanders: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Monday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+2, RDS, TSN2, NHL.TV)