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The New York Islanders shut out the Seattle Kraken in a 4-0 win last night, sweeping their back-to-back set.
Samuel Bolduc entered the lineup with Alexander Romanov out for personal reasons, while Ilya Sorokin got the start.
The Islanders managed to open the scoring midway through the first frame, as Bolduc just put a shot on net through traffic and it found its way through Martin Jones for his first NHL goal. New York then had a number of other good chances afterwards from Mathew Barzal, Casey Cizikas and Josh Bailey, but couldn’t extend the lead through much of the frame. However, with under two minutes to go, a puck popped out to Simon Holmstrom in front and he beat Jones with a well-placed shot to make it a 2-0 game, leaving the Islanders with all the momentum after 20 minutes.
New York continued to build to their lead early in the second period, with a puck landing right on Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s stick, who put a shot on goal that went off Zach Parise and in. Then only 1:30 later, Mathew Barzal found Bo Horvat at the side of the net alone and he beat Jones for his first goal with the Islanders, making it a four-goal game as ‘Horvat’ chants took over UBS Arena.
Seattle did end up with some good chances of their own on a power play later in the frame, but Ilya Sorokin came up with some big saves to preserve the four-goal lead.
New York was outshot in the third period but did a good job limiting quality chances, and cruised to the win.
Getting a second win to close out the back-to-back with four points was huge for the Islanders, following the 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday. It now marks four wins in a row, dating back to before the All-Star Break.
This win had a bit of a different feel to it as well, and while the Islanders’ offense did slow down at a certain point, they had a ton of momentum by the midway mark of the game. Horvat getting on the board for his first as an Islander and the crowd reaction was a great moment.
It also marked the 400th career game for both Ryan Pulock and Scott Mayfield. On the flip side, it was also big to see Samuel Bolduc pick up his first NHL goal. He played more than both Noah Dobson and Sebastian Aho last night and is already looking pretty NHL-ready, with a lot of comfort controlling the puck.
Defensively, New York was really sound last night as well. While they did give up 32 shots, the number of dangerous chances against at even strength was very low. Over the Islanders last four games, they’ve now allowed only two goals.
Looking ahead, the Islanders have a great opportunity to continue climbing the standings over the next week. Their next three games will come against the Vancouver Canucks (marking Horvat’s first game against his former team), Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators — three teams well outside of the playoffs.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM FEBRUARY
Analyzing the Bo Horvat trade
Islanders sign Bo Horvat to eight-year contract extension
Islanders hold off Flyers in Bo Horvat’s debut 
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