ELMONT, N.Y. — It’s been almost two months since the Islanders have had a winning streak.
That hard-to-believe fact becomes even more head scratching when they show they’re capable of dominating team efforts such as the Thursday night’s 6-0 win over the overmatched Blue Jackets at UBS Arena, their largest margin of victory this season while matching their most goals for a game.
Captain Anders Lee completed his first career hat trick with a power-play goal with 0.4 seconds to go in regulation and now has five goals in his last two games.
The Islanders (22-24-8) are still 20 points behind the Capitals for a playoff spot and continue their six-game homestand against the Jets on Friday. They will be looking to win consecutive games in regulation for the first time since Nov. 4-6. Their last winning streak was a three-game spurt from Jan. 17-21.
Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves for his sixth shutout of the season while the Islanders’ penalty kill went 5 for 5 with a short-handed goal, and the power play was 2 for 3.
"The way the season has gone, ups and downs, expectations from the group, from outside, I think everybody is aware of all that," said Brock Nelson, who opened the scoring with a five-on-three goal. "Maybe it adds a little bit of emotion and pressure. But that’s just part of the job and you have to find a way to kind of fight through that and just worry about playing hockey. I think our group has done a pretty good job of that.
"I don’t think that means that we’re content with where we are. I think everybody is upset and wants to turn it and get better and get on a roll."
The Jets will also be playing on back-to-back nights after beating the host Devils, 2-1, on Thursday.
The Capitals’ 4-3 overtime loss in Edmonton on Wednesday night showed why it would take a major miracle for the Islanders to reach the playoffs even if they started stringing together wins. T.J. Oshie sent the game to overtime with just 1.8 seconds left in regulation, salvaging a point for the Capitals.
Josh Bailey gave the Islanders a 2-0 lead at 6:08 of the second period, connecting on a forehand as he skated to the crease after Kyle Palmieri won a battle along the right wall and fed him the puck. It was just Bailey’s fourth goal of the season as he snapped a 19-game drought.
Lee pushed the lead to 3-0 at 13:49 of the second period after defenseman Adam Pelech dropped him the puck in the left circle.
That became 4-0 at 17:44 on Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s short-handed one-timer from the left circle off defenseman Ryan Pulock’s set up as the Blue Jackets skated four-on-three. It was the Islanders’ third short-handed goal of the season.
Lee’s goal made it 5-0 at 11:57 of the third as he knocked in his own rebound at the crease.
Nelson, with his team-leading 22nd goal as he tries to reach 30 for the first time in his career, made it 1-0 at 10:32 of the first period with the Islanders’ first five-on-three power-play tally of the season. Of course, it was only the Islanders’ second five-on-three advantage of the season.
Nelson took a feed from Bailey in the slot and was skating backwards before being able to adjust course and connect on the forehand.
Sorokin had stopped Boone Jenner’s short-handed breakaway less than a minute earlier. Sorokin also turned aside Gustav Nyquist’s breakaway at 15:53 of the second period with the Islanders ahead 3-0.
Joonas Korpisalo stopped 27 shots for the Blue Jackets (28-27-3), who have lost four straight.
