Islanders 2, Blue Jackets 0: Varlamov picks up shutout in close win

It’s really nice to have two great goalies on the team, huh? In what turned out to be something of a goalie battle, Semyon Varlamov proved superior to Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Spencer Martin, turning away all 33 of Columbus’ chances (some of which required some excellent saves).

Meanwhile, the New York Islanders were able to capitalize on Spencer Martin’s mistakes, with Kyle Palmieri and Matt Martin taking advantage of some bad rebounds in order to pot the Islanders’ two goals of the night.

There were some nervy moments, and the Islanders looked a bit out of sorts as they got dragged into another back and forth type of game, but that’s where Varlamov came up big, helping the Islanders secure the win.

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Possibly one of the most shocking parts of the game was the Islanders’ phenomenal first power play, where the first unit kept the puck in the offensive zone for nearly the entire length of the power play, getting a few really good looks on goal in the process that were turned away by Spencer Martin.

A Jack Roslovic slashing penalty shortly after that power play put the Islanders up a man again, but the second power play struggled to get anything going.

Pierre Engvall threw a shot on net that Spencer Martin got a piece of, but he left a rebound that Kyle Palmieri put away, putting the Islanders up 1-0.

Anders Lee went to the box for tripping near the end of the period, and the Islanders killed the penalty, with Varlamov making a big save on Roslovic.

The Islanders also killed a Noah Dobson penalty early in the second period, and a Brock Nelson shot went off the post.

They picked up another power play when Emil Bemstrom was called for hooking, and the best chance was a shot from Oliver Wahlstrom that was blocked.

Nelson had another good look on goal saved by Spencer Martin with 6 seconds left in the second period.

Palmieri was called for hooking against Damon Severson, and Jack Roslovic (who had a great game for Columbus!) hit the post and overall had several shots denied by Varlamov all game.

Fortunately for the Islanders, who really needed an insurance goal to lock down the game, help would come in the form of a mistake by Spencer Martin, passing the puck up the middle of the ice where it was intercepted. Casey Cizikas took a shot that left a rebound picked up by Matt Martin, who committed some Martin on Martin violence by scoring to make it 2-0.

The Blue Jackets pulled their goalie shortly after to get the extra skater, and with a good save on Adam Fantilli from Varlamov, the Islanders were able to pick up the 2-0 shutout win on the road.

Up Next

Next, the Islanders head back to UBS Arena to take on the Detroit Red Wings, who started the season hot but are now on a three game losing streak they’ll certainly be motivated to break.