In Elmont, the New York Islanders’ Sebastian Aho and Oliver Wahlstrom scored 11 seconds apart in the opening frame on Thursday in a 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“Everybody’s contributing, which leads to more success,” New York coach Barry Trotz said. “There’s no quit in the group here. There hasn’t been all year. There’s been, at times, maybe some frustration, but there’s never been any quit where they throw up their hands and walk away. There’s none of that at all.”
The game was the back end of a home-and-home swept by the Isles.
“It’s always good to get the first goal and kind of get rolling,” Aho said. “We scored straight after again and you get the momentum going. … We kind of fell off a little bit in the second, but stuff happens. But I thought we took care of business in the third. It all comes from a good start.”
Semyon Varlamov,made 30 saves in the Islanders win.
New York needed a three-goal third period to get the win, after the Blue Jackets hit for a pair of goals in the middle frame.
Emil Bemstrom and Justin Danforth got the Blue Jackets even in the second period.
“We had our chances,” Columbus assistant Pascal Vincent said. “You look at the initial report, the scoring chances are pretty much even. Their goalie made some big saves, too.
“But you don’t want to have that kind of start, that’s for sure.”
Columbus dropped to s 32-31-5.
“The mindset with this group, no matter how many goals we’re down, especially since the All-Star break, the way we’ve been playing, we’re not out of any game,” the Blue Jackets’ Andrew Peeke said. “We’ve found ways to come back in games, get two points, get a point. But tonight, we couldn’t get it done. Obviously, it’s not ideal starting down 2-0, so hopefully the next game (at the Boston Bruins on Saturday), we can start with the lead.”
Kyle Palmieri and Martin Barzal scored in the third period to give the Isles a 4-2 advantage.
“I think it just comes down to pride,” Barzal said. “We’re professionals here, and at the end of the day, we’re building towards something that’s bigger than catching Columbus or anything. We’re building towards winning a Stanley Cup. Whenever that time comes and we get that opportunity, we’re just trying to be ready for it.”
New York moved to 30-27-9.
“We knew they were going to have a push,” Palmieri said. “It was 2-2 going into the third at home, so we were excited for the opportunity. We went out and played our game and got the result we wanted.”
Ryan Pulock added an empty-net goal for the 5-2 final.
Elvis Merzlikins made 31 saves. in the Columbus loss.
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