Sherwood has hat trick, Canucks top Islanders for 3rd straight win

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Kiefer Sherwood recorded his third career hat trick, and the Vancouver Canucks won 4-1 against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Friday.

David Kampf also scored for the Canucks (14-17-3), who have won three straight games. Thatcher Demko made 22 saves.

“I think we’re just playing the right way and continuing to build towards our identity,” Sherwood said. “It's tough because we had a lot of great efforts. We just didn't get the wins as a team, but we just stuck together and continued to play the right way. And eventually, over time, the results as a team have started to come our way, so it's nice to finally get them. But, yeah, we got to rinse and repeat. We got a big one tomorrow.”

Anders Lee scored for the Islanders (19-13-3), who have lost two straight games. Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves.

“I feel like we were looking for the perfect play too much,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “...We had a hard time making a tape-to-tape pass. We had a lot of guys who didn't have a great night, and it's probably one of our worst games at home all year. We all go through those, and you just hope that they don't happen. But when they happen, you gotta find a way to battle through, and find a way to come back and win the game. And we didn't do it tonight.”

The Canucks killed off a 5-on-3 penalty at 6:17 of the first period.

Kampf gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead at 8:57 of the first period. Adam Boqvist turned the puck over behind the net, and Jake DeBrusk found Kampf alone in front.

“We wanted to get pucks behind them,” Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers said. "I thought for the most part, we did a pretty good job of that consistently. The whole shift on Kampf’s goal was an all-around great shift. We worked them down low. You could tell they were getting a little tired, yeah, and then we brought it to the net. And I think that's the next step for us, getting pucks to the net. I feel like we’re good at cycling the puck.”

Sherwood made it 2-0 at 10:35. He stole the puck from Matthew Schaefer at the Islanders' blue line before he beat Sorokin high blocker side from inside the right circle.

Sherwood scored his second of the game on the power play to give the Canucks a 3-0 lead at 15:47. Filip Hronek found Sherwood in the slot for a one-timer that beat Sorokin under the bar, blocker side.

“We start the game 5-on-3,” Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield said. “The kill, they gained a little momentum from it, and then they put three in quick. Some puck bounces, some mistakes…we just weren't good enough to start the game.”

Lee deflected a Ryan Pulock point shot through Demko’s legs at 16:43 of the first, but the goal was waved off for high-sticking.

Lee cut the Islanders’ deficit to 3-1 at 14:55 of the third during a 6-on-5 advantage. Calum Ritchie backhanded a cross-crease pass through his legs for the tap-in at the right post.

Sherwood completed the hat trick at 18:39 with an empty-net goal for the 4-1 final.

“It's a process,” Canucks coach Adam Foote said. “We got slaughtered with injuries right before we won three in a row, 4-2, second-generating offense in the league, and we got slammed. In those moments, there were games we still could have had. We didn't get them. We felt like we had more wins, and with what we were trying to do, the players were all on board and were working. We were just coming up short. So it's nice to see for me.”

NOTES: Sherwood’s three hat tricks since joining the Canucks in 2024-25 are tied with seven other players for the most through that span. ... Sherwood became the second-fastest player to record three hat tricks with the Canucks (112 games), behind only Alexander Mogilny (37 games). ... Mathew Barzal extended his point streak to six games (six points; one goal, five assists). ... Myers played his 1,100th career game.