In Uniondale, Mackenzie Blackwood made 32 saves and the New Jersey Devils edged the Islanders, 2-1, on Thursday.
Pavel Zacha had a goal for the New Jersey Devils
The loss continued an inexplicable slide by the Isles.
New York has lost three straight and are falling behind the Boston Bruins for the third spot in the East.
“We’ve just got to get back to a little bit to our identity,” New York head coach Barry Trotz said. “… I fully understand where I think we are in the sense of getting to the playoffs and everybody wants to take a little bit of an exhale and take a breather, but we can’t put it in park. Some guys have parked their games where you think you can just turn it up.”
Anthony Beauvillier was the lone striker for the Isles.
“I think our line’s (Beauvillier, Brock Nelson, Josh Bailey) playing well,” Beauvillier said. “I think we’re making plays and obviously getting chances. I think that’s the key the past few games.”
The Devils took a 1-0 lead in the first period off a goal from Pavel Zacha.
“I thought we created energy right off the bat,” New Jersey head coach Lindy Ruff said. “It was a hard-fought game. I thought both teams played well. I liked our effort.”
New Jersey took the lead in the 16th minute of the middle frame when Michael McLeod scored for the 2-1 lead.
“We’re playing some good hockey as of late, beating some pretty big teams that could go pretty far in the playoffs,” McLeod said. “That’s huge for us heading into the offseason, just getting that confidence as a team that we can beat these teams. If we play the right way, we’re going to get the results we want.”
Semyon Varlamov made 23 saves in the loss.
“We’ve passed up a lot of chances,” Trotz said. “A 2-on-1 where we don’t even get a shot, or we don’t execute on a play and you get nothing out of it. We’ve got to be better, we’ve got to execute better. We’ve got to wrap our minds around getting prepared for the playoffs, not just waiting for it, because it’s not a switch.”
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