Islanders Jolt Back To Life Against Jets

The hopes of making the playoffs for the New York Islanders seemed to be dead in the water.

But after snapping a six-game losing skid with a 6-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday afternoon at UBS Arena, the Islanders now at least have a pulse.

The Islanders began the afternoon with, by far, the strongest 20 minutes of play they’ve put together in their last handful of games.

Cal Clutterbuck opened the scoring at 5:22 of the first period, crashing the net and putting home his own rebound for an unassisted goal.

The veteran winger had a little more help when he made it a 2-0 Islanders lead. Off feeds from Matt Martin and Alexander Romanov, Clutterbuck ripped a shot from the left wing past Winnipeg netminder Connor Hellebuyck for his second goal of the game and seventh of the season.

The Jets got on the board at 11:20 of the first, but the Islanders never let up as Kyle Palmieri scored his 22nd goal of the season to make it a 3-1 game heading into the second period.

The lead quickly grew for the Islanders when Hudson Fasching scored his fourth goal of the season just 1:51 after the teams emerged from the locker room. By the time Mathew Barzal made it 5-1 at 9:11 of the middle frame, the Islanders had successfully chased Hellebuyck from the game. The presumed favorite to win this year’s Vezina Trophy looked anything but for Winnipeg, stopping just 22 of the 27 shots he faced.

Laurent Brossoit didn’t provide much relief for the Jets once he took over in the crease, allowing a goal to  Anders Lee that gave the Islanders a 6-1 advantage entering the second intermission.

The makeshift line of Fasching, Barzal and Lee totaled seven individual points for the Islanders, with Fasching picking up the first three-point game of his career against Winnipeg.

While the Jets’ usually steady goaltending faltered, Semyon Varlamov provided the Islanders with the type of solid performance in net that they’ve sorely missed lately.

Making just his second start in more than three weeks, Varlamov made X saves on X shots, allowing goals to  Vladislav Namestnikov, Mason Appleton and Cole Perfetti.

The two points the Islanders earned against Winnipeg were their first in three games. Now with 75 points this season, they’re just three back of the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Islanders play host to the New Jersey Devils on Sunday evening at UBS Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 5 p.m.