Back from break, Blue Jackets sharp in routing Islanders 7-0

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Unlike some other NHL teams coming off their bye week, there wasn't a spot of rust on the sleek Columbus Blue Jackets.

In their first game following a five-day break, the high-energy Blue Jackets blew out the New York Islanders 7-0 Saturday as backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo earned his first career shutout.

Josh Anderson and Nick Foligno each scored twice, and David Savard had a goal and three assists. Boone Jenner and Jack Johnson also scored to help the Blue Jackets end New York's three-game winning streak.

Columbus has a comfortable hold on the top wild card in the Eastern Conference, while the Islanders are in a tight race for the final playoff berth.

Anderson said the mandatory hiatus did the Blue Jackets good.

"I think we need the break, to be honest with you," he said. "I know it hasn't been working out in other teams' favor, but for us to move away from each other for a little bit, to get some rest, and I thought our energy was really good tonight. It started off with practice yesterday. I thought we were really good, and we just came out tonight and played simple."

Columbus limited the Islanders' time in the offensive zone, and Korpisalo stopped all 24 shots.

"My part was pretty easy today," said the 22-year-old Finn, who's been back and forth between Columbus and AHL affiliate Cleveland this season.

"Korpi made some great saves in that first period to give us a chance to get our legs underneath us," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "That was a very important part of the game."

Johnson got Columbus started when his shot from the point bounced off the skate of New York's Nick Leddy and through goalie Thomas Greiss' pads 5:19 into the game.

Later in the first, Cam Atkinson's shot from the left circle was stopped by Greiss, but the rebound trickled back out from between his legs, and a charging Jenner tapped it in .

Foligno capped the first-period barrage when he deked the goalie and scored on a backhand.

The Blue Jackets outshot the Islanders 17-9 in the period, and Greiss was benched in favor of Jean-Francois Berube.

It didn't seem to matter. Anderson kept it going 4:31 into the second with a sharp one-timer from the high slot off Jenner's pass. Late in the period, Anderson got another one when he picked the pocket of defender Thomas Hickey in the neutral zone and launched a rocket past Berube from the right circle.

The highlight-reel goals continued in the third period when an airborne pass from Savard found Foligno for a breakaway 6:06 in. Savard flicked in the seventh goal from the right circle with 6½ minutes left.

Greiss stopped 14 of 17 shots in the first period, and Berube stopped 24 of 28 the rest of the way.

Islanders center John Tavares said there was plenty of blame to go around.

"Clearly we were pretty off today," he said. "What was disappointing the most was that we didn't even give ourselves a chance with the way we competed. It wasn't even mistakes or poor execution. We made it so easy for them to play against. It's tough to explain now."

NOTES: Columbus was without forward Matt Calvert and center Lukas Sedlak. Both have oblique strains. Markus Hannikainen was recalled from Cleveland of the American Hockey League. ... New York forward Cal Clutterbuck was out with an injury for the 15th time in 20 games. D Adam Pelech also was scratched. ... Columbus completed a 4-3 homestand, its longest of the season. ... Savard got his 100th career point with an assist on Johnson's first-period goal. ... New York is 2-1-0 during a stretch of nine straight road games.

UP NEXT

Islanders: At the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.

Blue Jackets: At the New York Rangers on Sunday.

Prince on IR, Kearns recalled

The New York Islanders placed Shane Prince (upper body) on injured reserve on Wednesday, retroactive to Feb. 12. Bracken Kearns was an emergency recall from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in wake of Prince heading to IR.
 
Cal Clutterbuck (lower body) and Casey Cizikas (upper body) both left Tuesday's win over Detroit, leaving the Islanders with 10 forwards in the third period. Stephen Gionta is the Islanders extra forward on the trip, but if both Cizikas and Clutterbuck can't play on Thursday Kearns will make his season debut.

The 35-year-old forward leads the Sound Tigers with 40 points (18G, 22A) in 51 games this season. He played a pair of games for the Islanders at the end of last season, recording one assist.

Prince has 16 points (5G, 11A) in 43 games this season. He's missed five straight games due to his injury.

Connor Jones Agrees to One-Year, Two-Way Deal

The New York Islanders announced today, forward Connor Jones has agreed to terms on a one-year, two-way (NHL/AHL) contract for the remainder of the 2016-17 season. He has been loaned to the team's American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers

Jones, 26, has played 47 games with the Sound Tigers this season, recording 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) and a plus-10 rating. The third-year pro initially signed a professional tryout (PTO) with Bridgeport at the beginning of the 2015-16 campaign and notched 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 51 games with the Sound Tigers last season. In addition, he appeared in three Calder Cup Playoff games with Bridgeport in 2015-16. 

A native of Trail, BC, Jones split his first professional season between the Oklahoma City Barons (AHL) and Bakersfield Condors (ECHL) in 2014-15. The 5'9, 180-pound forward registered 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 41 regular-season games and three goals in 10 playoff contests with Oklahoma City.

Prior to turning pro, Jones played four seasons at Quinnipiac University alongside his twin brother and fellow Sound Tigers forward, Kellen Jones. C. Jones logged 129 points (49 goals, 80 assists) and 151 penalty minutes in 153 games with the Bobcats.

- New York Islanders

Islanders open 9-game road trip with 3-1 win over Red Wings

By LARRY LAGE
Associated Press 

DETROIT (AP) — The New York Islanders need to turn around their lackluster rate of success on the road to rally into the NHL playoffs. At the start of a nine-game road trip, they skated in the right direction.

Calvin de Haan was credited with a go-ahead goal that caromed off an opponent late in the second period and the Islanders went on to beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 Tuesday night.

The Islanders, in contention for a wild-card spot, started the day tied with Dallas for the fewest points on the road with a 7-18-4 record.

"It's huge to win this game," said New York coach Doug Weight acknowledged. "We got two tough tests coming. We got Montreal and Columbus. It doesn't get easy. Detroit just won two in a row against the best two teams in the league."

The Red Wings, coming off wins at Pittsburgh and against Washington, went into their bye week with the expectation the franchise will try to trade players because it has a slim chance of extending a playoff streak to 26.

"We know it's going to be tough one, but we still believe in here at least," Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg said.

De Haan's shot from above the left circle was stopped by Petr Mrazek, but the rebound went off Detroit defenseman Xavier Ouellet and the back of the goaltender's left leg and into the net. John Tavares scored early in the third period to give the Islanders a two-goal lead and they coasted to the victory.

New York's Josh Bailey had a goal and an assist, matching his career high of 41 points set two years ago. Thomas Greiss stopped 26 shots.

Henrik Zetterberg scored for Detroit and Mrazek finished with 19 saves.

Mrazek made a mistake late in the first period and New York took advantage. He played the puck from behind the net, passing it to his left right onto Bailey's stick to set up the game's first goal.

"Obviously, there's a lot of luck involved there," Bailey said. "I was staying on the wall hoping that he would throw it down the middle and I could get to it, but he fanned on it a little and that's how I got it. We were laughing on the bench because I had to wait for Anders (Lee) to get out of my way so that I could shoot.

The Red Wings tied it with one-tenth of a second left in the first on Zetterberg's goal on the power play for the NHL's worst team with an extra skater off a faceoff with 3.2 seconds left. Detroit's Fran Nielsen won the draw against Tavares, a former teammate, and Thomas Vanek pushed the puck to his right to assist Zetterberg on the tying goal.

Tavares, who was stopped by a spectacular, sprawling save in the second period, scored in the third period just to the left of the right circle off a slick pass from Bailey as he skated into the left circle.

"This is the solid start we needed for the road trip," Tavares said. "We know that we've got to climb the ladder during this trip, and we also need to put some space between us and the teams behind us."

NOTES: New York F Cal Clutterbuck returned after a nine-game absence because of a lower-body injury and was unable to finish the game because he aggravated his ailment. "It's precautionary," Weight insisted. ... Islanders C Casey Cizikas skated off the ice and went to his team's dressing room after appearing to injure his left hand and didn't return. Weight said Cizikas would be evaluated Wednesday. ... New York D Travis Hamonic (lower body) is nearing his return after being out for more than a month. ... Detroit G Jimmy Howard, who has been out for nearly two months with a knee injury, said he does not know when he will be cleared to make another rehab appearance for the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins. ... Detroit's backup goalie, Jared Coreau, is expected to play for the Griffins this week. ... Weight, who is from Michigan, said he skated with the team during the morning skate because it was his last scheduled visit to Joe Louis Arena, which will be replaced by a new arena next season.

UP NEXT

Islanders: Play Thursday night at Montreal.

Red Wings: Idle until returning from bye Feb. 28 at Vancouver.

Strome's two goals leads Isles past Devils 6-4

Ryan Strome had two goals and one assist as the New York Islanders defeated the New Jersey Devils 6-4 on Sunday.

The Islanders (27-21-10, 64 points) extended their home point streak to 11 games (9-0-2) with the win.

The Islanders have won six consecutive home games against the Devils (25-24-10, 60 points) dating to March 29, 2014 (NJD: 0-4-2).

Casey Cizikas, Andrew Ladd, John Tavares and Jason Chimera also scored for the Islanders.

Jean-Francois Berube made 26 saves for New York (27-21-10), which salvaged a home-and-home series split following a 3-2 loss at the Devils on Saturday.

"I thought we played a hard game, were tough to play against and we went to the front of the net," Strome said. "In our loss [Saturday], we didn't have enough bodies in front. [Cory Schneider] saw the shots easily; we got in front and it paid off tonight."

Taylor Hall had a goal and two assists, Miles Wood, Kyle Palmieri and Joseph Blandisi scored, and Keith Kinkaid made 26 saves for New Jersey.

Kinkaid made his first start since a 5-2 loss against the Washington Capitals on Jan. 26.

Devils edge Islanders 3-2 behind Schneider's 40 saves

By DENIS P. GORMAN
Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — For a franchise with three Stanley Cup championships and a long list of postseason appearances, the modern-day New Jersey Devils find themselves having to learn the lessons their predecessors knew by rote.

Games such as Saturday night's 3-2 win over the New York Islanders could go a long way toward shaping the organization's future.

Just ask head coach John Hynes.

"It was a playoff atmosphere," coach John Hynes said. "This is where you grow. This is where we're trying to grow out our team and grow our organization to get back (to the postseason), learn how to play in these games and (be) a team that can contend."

Cory Schneider made 40 saves and Travis Zajac had a short-handed goal and an assist to lead the Devils. Devante Smith-Pelley and Pavel Zacha also scored for New Jersey (25-23-10), which finished 3-2-0 on its longest homestand of the season.

"The most important thing is that we won," Smith-Pelley said.

New York dropped to 26-21-10, including 7-13-4 on the road. Andrew Ladd and Anthony Beauvillier scored for the Islanders, while Thomas Greiss made 18 saves.

Schneider stopped a penalty shot by John Tavares.

"We're going to have to win on the road if we're going to do anything," Islanders interim coach Doug Weight said.

The first of four regular-season meetings between the Metropolitan Division rivals — and the first half of a weekend home-and-home — was a matchup of teams trying to make up ground in the playoff race.

The Islanders are two points out of the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot, while New Jersey is four points back.

"The concern is you lose points," Weight said. "We're in the playoff race."

Sprung by Zajac's pass off the boards, Smith-Pelley opened the scoring at 7:10 of the first period with a backhand that beat Greiss between the legs.

"I was super relieved to contribute," Smith-Pelley said. "That goal kind of got us started."

Exactly a minute later, Schneider kept the Devils ahead with a blocker save on Tavares' penalty shot. Tavares was awarded the try when he was hooked on the arm by Zajac to thwart a semi-breakaway.

"(Tavares) likes to come in slow and pick up (a) little speed and play in tight," Schneider said. "I had to be patient and hold my ground."

Zajac's short-handed wrist shot from the left circle at 8:49 of the second doubled the Devils' lead. Tavares fell and lost the puck in the offensive end, allowing Zajac to counterattack with Adam Henrique on a 2-on-1.

Zacha added a power-play goal 6:21 into the third, but the Islanders mounted a comeback sparked by Ladd's goal at 8:58. Hynes used his coach's challenge to see if Tavares interfered with Schneider, but the ruling on the ice was upheld after a replay review.

The Islanders closed within one on Beauvillier's snap shot off the rush at 13:48.

New York outshot the Devils 42-21.

"The first 20 (minutes) wasn't great," Islanders defenseman Calvin de Haan said. "But the last 40, like I said, I thought we carried play."

NOTES: New Jersey finished 1 for 2 with the man advantage and killed off all three New York power plays. ... Before the game, the Devils acquired D Viktor Loov from Toronto for C Sergey Kalinin. New Jersey assigned the 24-year-old Loov to its AHL affiliate in Albany, New York. Loov has 42 points (11 goals, 31 assists) and 127 penalty minutes in 170 AHL games. ... The Devils scratched LW Michael Cammalleri, who has not scored a goal since Jan. 3, a stretch of 18 games. In 51 games this season, Cammalleri has 10 goals, which is tied for third on the team with Zajac. Smith-Pelley dressed in Cammalleri's place. New Jersey also scratched D Seth Helgeson. ... New York RW Cal Clutterbuck missed his eighth straight game with a lower-body injury, and Islanders D Travis Hamonic sat out his 19th consecutive game with a lower-body injury. ... The Islanders scratched C Shane Prince and C Adam Pelech. ... The game was the second half of a day-night doubleheader at Prudential Center. No. 2 Villanova routed Seton Hall 92-70 in the men's college basketball game earlier in the day. ... The announced attendance was 16,514.

UP NEXT

The teams meet again Sunday night in Brooklyn.

Ladd scores 2 as Islanders beat rival Rangers 4-2

By VIN A. CHERWOO
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Two nights after a bad road loss, the New York Islanders bounced back with a key home win against one of their biggest rivals.

Andrew Ladd scored twice to lead the Islanders to a 4-2 victory over the Rangers on Thursday night. Anders Lee and Nikolay Kulemin also scored, and Thomas Greiss stopped 25 shots to help the Islanders improve to 8-0-2 in their last 10 at home.

"It was a huge game for us," Lee said. "A good response from our last outing."

The Islanders were coming off a 7-1 loss at Toronto on Tuesday night when they had a chance to move past the Maple Leafs into a playoff spot.

John Tavares had two assists for his 12th multipoint game of the season, helping the Islanders move back within a point of Toronto for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

When asked if this was the Islanders' biggest win of the season, interim coach Doug Weight didn't hesitate to agree.

"Our place in the standings would be an obvious (reason)," he said. "Crucial bounce-back. ... If you don't have a deep effort against the New York Rangers, you're not going to beat them. They're too good. They're deep. ... They've got a solid team."

The Islanders, who swept the four games between the teams a year ago, beat the Rangers for the second time in three meetings this season. The Rangers have also lost all four matchups at Barclays Center since the Islanders moved to Brooklyn before last season.

"We just had a hard time making plays in their end tonight," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "You've got to give the opposition credit, they played a good game. We seem to be having issues in this building right now."

Nick Holden and Jimmy Vesey scored for the Rangers, whose season-high six-game winning streak was snapped. Henrik Lundqvist finished with 19 saves.

Ladd had an empty-netter for his 14th with 1:10 left, and then nearly got another in the final minute when he hit a goalpost.

The Rangers went on a four-minute power play on a high-sticking double-minor on the Islanders' Josh Bailey in the closing seconds of the second period. However, the Islanders extended their lead to 3-1 with a short-handed goal at 3:03 of the third. Tavares and Kulemin were attacking in the offensive zone and had several chances in front. Tavares then got the puck behind the net and passed it to Kulemin in front, and he put it past Lundqvist for his 10th.

"It was right there, and he kept hacking and whacking and the puck was bouncing," Lundqvist said. "When it went behind (the net), I thought we had it covered. ... We didn't sort it out and it cost us."

Vesey pulled the Rangers back within one 43 seconds later — with seconds left on the power play — when he knocked in a rebound of a shot by Brady Skjei for his 14th. Weight challenged for goalie interference because the Rangers' Rick Nash fell into Greiss before Vesey knocked it in, but the goal stood after a review.

The Rangers, who lead the NHL with 19 road wins, lost for just the second time in their last 10 away from home.

Trailing 1-0 after one period, the Islanders took the lead with two goals less than 4 minutes apart in the second.

The tying score came after some slick passing as Tavares sent it from the right corner to Bailey in the right circle. Bailey then quickly sent it across the front of the crease to Lee, who settled the puck, turned and put it into the open left side of the net for his 22nd at 2:43.

Stephen Gionta then knocked the Rangers' Marc Staal off the puck behind the net and sent a pass in front to Ladd, who poked it in past Lundqvist from the right side at 6:24.

Holden got the Rangers on the scoreboard in the first period just 8 seconds after his hooking penalty expired with his ninth at 6:23 on the Rangers' first shot on goal.

NOTES: Rangers D Kevin Klein missed the game due to flu-like symptoms. He was replaced in the lineup by Adam Clendening. Vigneault also put LW Matt Puempel in place of fellow rookie Pavel Buchnevich. ... The Rangers won at home 5-3 in the teams' season opener and the Islanders won 4-2 in Brooklyn on Dec. 6. The teams conclude the season series March 22 at Madison Square Garden. ... The Islanders play 18 of their last 26 games on the road, where they are just 7-12-4. "We have a lot of road games and a crappy road record. ... We've got to get better on the road," Weight said. "We haven't played horribly, but we're not getting the results." ... Injured Islanders D Travis Hamonic and RW Cal Clutterbuck both skated Thursday morning, but neither is ready to return.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Host Eastern Conference-leading Washington on Sunday.

Islanders: At New Jersey on Saturday night to start a two-night, home-and-home set with the Devils.