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The New York Islanders earned their third straight win last night, defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1.
The one lineup change was Ross Johnston entering the lineup, in place of an injured Oliver Wahlstrom.
The Islanders came out with a relatively strong first period, and had some good chances on two different power plays in the frame. New York did give up a couple odd-man rush chances but outshot Columbus 13-7 (and Casey Cizikas had a great point-blank chance at the end of the frame), though the game remained scoreless through 20 minutes.
New York ended up opening the scoring seven minutes into the second period, with Hudson Fasching making a move to get to the net for a shot, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau tapping in the rebound. Then a little later, the Islanders were able to capitalize on a power play off a turnover from Sean Kuraly, with Mathew Barzal one-timing a pass from Brock Nelson past Joonas Korpisalo.
The Islanders managed to maintain their two-goal lead through much of the final frame, limiting Columbus to just seven shots in the period yet again. They stayed out of the box and didn’t give up many chances, though the Blue Jackets did build sustain some late pressure and broke Ilya Sorokin’s shutout with 20 seconds left. The Islanders hung on from there though, taking the 2-1 win.
While last night may not have seen the same kind of offensive output as New York’s past two wins, it was another really solid performance. They outshot Columbus 36-21, which makes for a margin of 121-65 over the last three wins.
The Metropolitan Division is a battle right now, as the Islanders try to gain some ground in the playoff race. With a big four-game Western Conference road trip coming up, getting two points in a very winnable game against the depleted Blue Jackets was important.
They also continue to string together these wins while badly shorthanded. Oliver Wahlstrom, Simon Holmstrom and Adam Pelech all won’t be available for the upcoming road trip and while Kyle Palmieri, Semyon Varlamov and Cal Clutterbuck are closer to a return, they remain out.
Ross Johnston finally managed to get into action as a result of the injuries, playing his first game in a month. For a while I was convinced just about everyone from Bridgeport would be called up before he got into the lineup. It’s still a curious case as to why he has a roster spot at this point.
Despite all the injuries, the Islanders are playing some of their best hockey of the season right now. They’re forechecking hard, playing much of the game in the opposing end and wearing down their opponents. Ilya Sorokin has been good as well, but the team in front of him is doing a great job limiting his workload.
The Islanders will kick off their road trip on New Year’s Day against the Seattle Kraken.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM DECEMBER
Islanders’ four-game winning streak snapped in rematch against Flyers
Islanders fire 49 shots on goal but fall short against Predators
Islanders score three in second period, earn shutout win over Blackhawks
Islanders’ comeback falls short in 7-4 loss to Blues
Islanders hold off Devils for 6-4 win
Islanders shut out by Hurricanes in second half of back-to-back
Islanders' struggles continue after dropping first two games of road trip
Simon Holmstrom scores first NHL goal, Islanders earn key win in Vegas
Islanders come up short against Avalanche, fall 1-0 in shootout
Islanders rebound to split back-to-back set, Aatu Raty scores in debut
Islanders prospects Calle Odelius and Aleksi Malinen participating in WJC
Islanders return from holiday break with big win over Penguins 
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