ELMONT, N.Y. — The fifth-place Islanders. How does that sound?
Granted, it’s far from the expectations the team had at the beginning of the season after back-to-back trips to the NHL semifinals. But, given where the team has been in the standings, leap-frogging the Blue Jackets was an immediate goal for the Islanders.
The Islanders, who opened the scoring with goals 11 seconds apart in the first period, swept a home-and-home series with a 5-2 win over the Blue Jackets on Thursday night at UBS Arena to move into fifth place in the Metropolitan Division.
