Varlamov, Islanders As Perfect as They’ve Been in 4-0 Shutout of Jets

After a 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night, the New York Islanders bounced back Sunday afternoon as they defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4-0.

The Islanders are now 31-25-7, with a three-point lead in the top wild-card spot.

LINEUP

Anders Lee-Bo Horvat-Simon Holmstrom
Zach Parise-Brock Nelson-Kyle Palmieri
Matt Martin-Casey Cizikas-Hudson Fasching
Arnaud Duradeau-Otto Koivula-Josh Bailey

Adam Pelech-Scott Mayfield
Alexander Romanov-Ryan Pulock
Sebastian Aho-Noah Dobson

Semyon Varlamov
Ilya Sorokin

GOALS

Bo Horvat gave the New York Islanders a 1-0 lead at 7:56 if the first period as he beat Winnipeg Jets netminder David Rittich from a distance while shorthanded for his 35th goal of the season. That goal was unassisted.

Alexander Romanov extended the Islanders’ lead to 2-0 as he roofed one glove side for his second of the season. Casey Cizikas and Hudson Fasching were credited with the assists at 4:22 of the second.

Brock Nelson pushed the Islanders’ lead to 3-0 as he megged Jets forward Kyle Connor before rifling a shot over the blocker of Rittich for his 27th goal of the season. Zach Parise was credited with the lone assist at 18:41 of the second period.

Adam Pelech scored the empty-net goal at 17:59 of the third to give the Islanders a 4-0 lead.

RAPID RECAP

After struggling mightily to get shots on goal against the Los Angeles Kings, especially early, the New York Islanders took it to the Winnipeg Jets in the first period. After the opening twenty, the Islanders had outshot the Jets 12-1, their strongest defensive period in quite some time.

They also had a 1-0 lead courtesy of Bo Horvat, who scored his fifth goal as a member of the Islanders in game 11. It was a shorthanded tally from a distance as he caught Winnipeg Jets netminder David Rittich napping from just inside the right face-off dot.

The Islanders got a bit looser defensively in the second period, allowing eight shots, but scored two in the frame.

A Romanov blast and a Brock Nelson highlight-reel goal gave the Islanders a 3-0 lead before the end of the frame.

Parise and Nelson play give and go and Brock Nelson finds some room and finishes for the 3 goal lead! #Isles pic.twitter.com/ZuHr3SrEI1

— Isles on MSGSN (@IslesMSGN) February 26, 2023

And in the third, the Islanders played Barry Trotz-esque hockey as they locked down the lead for the win, with Adam Pelech adding the empty-netter.

The Islanders outshot the Jets 24-23 but got the goals when they needed them for their most complete win of the season.

UP NEXT: The New York Islanders are in Minnesota to face the Wild Tuesday night at 7:00 PM ET.