Islanders spoil Sabres return, extend point streak to seven

BUFFALO --The New York Islanders extended their point streak to seven and spoiled the Buffalo Sabres' first game since Jan. 31 with a 3-1 win at KeyBank Center on Monday.

Semyon Varlamov made 20 saves, and Josh Bailey had two assists for the Islanders (7-4-3), who are 4-0-3 in their past seven games and did not allow a shot on goal in a period for the first time in their history when they outshot Buffalo 12-0 in the third.
"I don't think we were taking it lightly," New York center Brock Nelson said. "They had some time off, but after a break like that, everybody's fired up to play and is just happy to be back out there. We've been in that situation now, different scenarios with bye weeks and things like that. … We knew they were going to come out and have some jump having not played in a bit."
Victor Olofsson scored and Linus Ullmark made 26 saves for the Sabres (4-5-2), who had six games postponed due to NHL COVID-19 protocols. They will host the Islanders again Tuesday.
Buffalo still has six players (forwards Dylan Cozens,
Curtis Lazar
and Casey Mittelstadt, and defensemen Jake McCabe, Brandon Montour and Rasmus Ristolainen) on the COVID-19 protocol list.
"I don't think it was fatigue," Sabres forward Kyle Okposo said. "I just think that we got away from our game a little bit and kind of got sucked into what feeds their game and that's when you turn the puck over.
"They're a team that knows how to play with the lead, they know how to lock things down. I just thought we fed into their game in the third period."
Anders Lee redirected Bailey's shot stick side to give New York a 1-0 lead at 16:37 of the first period.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau extended his goal streak to three games 1:44 later when he took a pass from Nick Leddy and scored from the right circle to make it 2-0 at 18:21 of the first.
"He's engaged, he's playing that role, he's going against top people, he's moving around a little bit," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. "I thought he had a little bit slow start today, honestly. … But I like 'Pager.' Pager's a guy you win with. He gets it done when it matters most."
Olofsson cut it to 2-1 on the power play at 1:40 of the second period with a one-timer from the right circle. He has an NHL career-high seven games (three goals, five assists).
Buffalo is 10-for-23 on the power play in its past six games but has five goals at even strength during that stretch.
"We've just got to make a play. That's what it comes down to," Sabres captain Jack Eichel said of the 5-on-5 struggles. "That's it. We just have to make a play. It's been frustrating all season. It hasn't been there 5-on-5. It seems like we're sloppy. I don't know, we don't make a whole lot of plays. It's tough. It's tough to score goals in this league when you don't do that."

Nelson scored a power-play goal on a redirection of Bailey's pass at 9:49 of the second period for the 3-1 final.
It was Bailey's second multipoint game of the season; the forward has scored six points (one goal, five assists) in 14 games.

"I think first and foremost, [it's about] team success," Bailey said. "That being said, we all take pride in our roles and our jobs on this team. When you're not doing what's expected of you, it hurts you. I think it's a motivating factor to get going, and sometimes you just need some results. I'm looking to build off it personally, and as a team it's a good win to start the trip. It's a quick turnaround here, so we can't sit on it for too long."
NOTES: Islanders center Mathew Barzal had an assist and extended his NHL career-high point streak to nine games (four goals, seven assists). … New York forward Oliver Wahlstrom got his first NHL assist. … The Islanders have scored a power-play goal in three straight games and five of their past six. … Sabres defenseman Will Borgen had one shot on goal and three hits in 14:43 of ice time in his season debut and first NHL game since March 31, 2019. … Defenseman Brandon Davidson made his Sabres debut and had two shots on goal in 11:36.