Kyle Palmieri netted two goals and an assist, while Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves, leading the New York Islanders to a 5-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Monday night.
Pierre Engvall, Bo Horvat, and Zach Parise also scored for the Islanders, who ended a two-game losing streak and extended their lead over Pittsburgh for the first wild card in the Eastern Conference to three points.
“They are fighting for first, and we are fighting to get into the playoffs,” said Parise, a former Devils player who scored the 429th goal of his career. “That was a good fast-paced game.”
Eric Haula scored the lone goal for the Devils, and Vitek Vanecek made 31 saves. Despite clinching a playoff spot with a win against Ottawa on Saturday, New Jersey remains three points behind first-place Carolina in the Metropolitan Division.
“We knew they were fighting for a playoff spot and would be desperate,” Devils forward Timo Meier said. “They won more battles, they were harder on pucks, and that’s what cost us the game.”
Palmieri broke a 1-1 tie with a backhander past Vanecek with 5:38 left in the second period and added an insurance goal, his 15th of the season, with 4:35 left in the third.
“It was a long time to have the puck on the backhand,” Palmieri said. “I found some space.”
Sorokin, who made 16 saves through the first two periods, stopped all 14 shots he faced in the third, improving his record to 27-19-7.
Palmieri’s second goal of the night made it 3-1, and Horvat and Parise each added empty-netters in the final 62 seconds to seal the win. Parise’s goal was shorthanded and his 21st of the season. Palmieri, another former Devils player, has five goals in his last six games.
“He has injected an element of offense into our group,” Islanders coach Lane Lambert said. “He’s been rewarded for it.”
The Islanders have improved to 16-5-0 in their last 21 games against the Devils, including 8-3-0 at home.
New York bounced back from a shutout loss for the third time in five tries this season, having lost 2-0 to Buffalo last Saturday at home.
“I thought we stayed on top as best we could,” Lambert added. “That was a fast team we were playing.”
Engvall gave New York the lead at 7:37 of the first period. Palmieri skated in alone on Vanecek, who made the initial save, but Engvall knocked in the rebound for his 16th goal of the season, his fourth since being acquired from Toronto on Feb. 28.
“I feel pretty good,” Engvall said. “We’re coming together.”
Haula tied it with an unassisted shorthanded goal at 6:15 of his ninth season’s second period.
Game Notes:
- The Islanders have outscored opponents 30-9 in the third period over their last 18 games.
- The Islanders scratched forwards Josh Bailey and Ross Johnston, as well as defensemen Sebastian Aho and Parker Wotherspoon.
- The Devils scratched forwards Nathan Bastian, Curtis Lazar, Jesper Boqvist, and Nolan Foote.
UP NEXT:
- Devils: Host the New York Rangers on Thursday night.
- Islanders: At Washington on Wednesday night.
