Recap: Lehner's Shutout Leads Isles in 4-0 Win Over Canucks

Robin Lehner made 36 saves for his career-best fourth shutout of the season, as the New York Islanders shut out the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 on Saturday night.
Casey Cizikas scored the eventual winner at 4:48 of the first period, while Ryan Pulock, Anthony Beauvillier and Cal Clutterbuck scored for the Islanders, who snapped a two-game winless streak in the process.
BOXSCORE | TROTZ POSTGAME

Video: Lehner leads Islanders to 4-0 victory against Canucks

ISLES RESPOND TO END ROAD TRIP WITH WIN:

The importance of Saturday night's game was not lost on the New York Islanders.
After dropping back-to-back contests in Alberta, the Islanders needed a response to close out their Western Canada swing. They answered in a big way, shutting out the Vancouver Canucks 4-0, finishing their trip 1-1-1.
"We had a little more desperation in our game than maybe the last two," Head Coach Barry Trotz said.
One of the differences on Saturday was the Islanders start. After falling behind 2-0 in each of their past two games, the Islanders jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on Saturday night, playing with an advantage from wire to wire.

They took the lead on Cizikas' career-high 17th of the season, as the center swatted a bouncing puck past Jacob Markstrom at 4:48. Pulock made it 2-0 at 14:05, hammering a one-timer past Markstrom on a delayed penalty that saw the Isles hold possession for about a minute before Pulock pulled the trigger.
"Everybody in this room had a little chip on their shoulder there," Cizikas said. "We came out four lines firing and we did a good job of hounding the puck, getting all over them and not really giving them too many chances."

LEHNER LEADS ISLES, SETS CAREER-HIGH IN SHUTOUTS:

If Cizikas and Pulock built the lead, then Lehner protected it on Saturday.
Lehner was sharp in the first two periods, especially in a second period that saw the Islanders get outshot 15-3. He was a little lucky too, getting bailed out a pair of posts and Scott Mayfield, who pulled a puck off the goal line on a Canucks power play.
"Lenny bailed us out big time," Cizikas said. "He gave us a chance to win this game. He made some unbelievable saves, some big saves and he's the one that kept us close and kept the lead for us. This game goes all to him."

Lehner, who improved to 15-3-2 in his last 20 games, was a bit of an unexpected starter on Saturday. The Isles goalies had been rotating starts since returning from the all-star break, so Greiss seemed to be the likely starter, but Trotz sensed more sharpness in Lehner's game on Thursday that made him want to go back to the big Swede.
Trotz was rewarded for his faith in Lehner, who was happier to get two points than to set a career-high for shutouts in the win.
"I just want to win with this team," Lehner said. "Every point we get with this group feels amazing. We're still pushing. We're still pushing in the standings and we're having a good year. We had a little bit of a slump and this was the kind of game we needed to regroup."
As a team, the Islanders earned their eighth shutout in 61 games. Last year, they managed two.

BEAUVILLIER, CLUTTERBUCK ICE GAME:

Anthony Beauvillier made it 3-0 in the third, finishing a tic-tac-toe play from Valtteri Filppula and Josh Bailey - a new-look line from Trotz.
Beauvillier's goal was his 14th of the season and first since Feb. 10. Cal Clutterbuck iced the game with an empty-netter with 1:14 to play.
The goals were the window dressing on a sound defensive period for the Islanders, who felt they played to their identity in the final frame, holding the Canucks to six shots.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders return home to take on the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night.