BUFFALO, N.Y. _ Maybe the NHL should have sent the Islanders to Sweden to help promote the league. They certainly are the hottest team right now.
The Islanders won their ninth straight game _ equaling their longest single-season winning streak since 1990 _ with a 1-0 victory over the Sabres on Saturday night at KeyBank Center.
That allowed the Islanders (10-3-0) to sweep this weekend's back-to-back set against the two teams that will meet in the NHL Global Series this upcoming Friday and Saturday in Stockholm, Sweden.
Both teams were playing on back-to-back nights with the Islanders topping the visiting Lighting, 5-2, on Friday while the Sabres lost, 6-1, at Washington.
The Islanders last won nine straight in one season from Dec. 31, 1989 to Jan. 19, 1990. The franchise record is a 15-game winning streak from Jan. 21 to Feb. 20, 1982.
The Islanders will get a chance for a perfect 10 when they face the Senators on Tuesday night at Barclays Center, the first of three straight games in Brooklyn and the first of the season at their other home arena.
Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves for his fifth straight win as Islanders coach Barry Trotz continued his strict goalie rotation. Neither Varlamov nor Thomas Greiss has started consecutive games this season.
Varlamov earned his and the Islanders' first shutout of the season and the 26th of his career.
Carter Hutton stopped 20 shots for the Sabres (9-4-2), who are in a 1-3-1 slide and were blanked for the first time this season.
The Islanders won the way they're used to winning, with strong goaltending from Varlamov supported by good defensive support and, in this case, just enough offense to get the victory.
Derick Brassard set a career high with a goal in his fifth straight game, banking in the puck Hutton's leg from behind the crease to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 5:19 of the first period.
Varlamov stopped all 10 shots he faced in the second period, kicking out his right pad to stop former Ranger Jimmy Vesey from low in the slot at 9:16. The Sabres took eight straight shots from 12:31 to 16:46 of the second period. Shortly after Varlamov's pad save, Cole Bardreau, who grew up in nearby Fairport and had 60 friends and family in the arena, had his breakaway stopped by Hutton.
Varlamov also received help in the second period as defenseman Johnny Boychuk absorbed Jeff Skinner's shot in the slot at 13:21 and Mathew Barzal used his stick to frustrate Skinner on another opportunity from the slot on that shift. Josh Bailey also got his stick out to prevent a chance at the crease.
The Sabres entered Saturday with the third-ranked power play in the NHL but the Islanders killed off all three of their chances. That included the Islanders getting caught with too many men at 1:23 of the third period and defenseman Scott Mayfield breaking his stick early in the penalty kill as he tried to slap the puck out of the zone. Cal Clutterbuck, playing in his 800th NHL game, yielded his stick to Mayfield as used his body to try and block shots but the Sabres kept the Islanders hemmed in until Varlamov gloved defenseman Colin Miller's shot with three seconds left in the man advantage.
