Islanders hand Blue Jackets 7th straight loss

Jean-Gabriel Pageau had a goal and an assist, and the New York Islanders handed the Columbus Blue Jackets their seventh straight loss with a 2-1 win at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on Thursday.

Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves, and Mathew Barzal scored for the Islanders (21-14-2), who have won three straight and are 4-1-1 in their past six games.
"It's been a couple of games now where we're playing the way we want to," Pageau said. "We're all playing our roles and we're competing a lot for a full 60 [minutes]. I thought we did that tonight, and obviously Sorokin is always there to make the big saves when we need it."
Emil Bemstrom scored, and Joonas Korpisalo made 34 saves for the Blue Jackets (10-22-2).
"We didn't give them much, but they had a couple of chances and got a couple of goals, but definitely a better defensive effort than the last couple of games," Columbus defenseman Tim Berni said.
The Blue Jackets have been outscored 26-10 during their losing streak.
"It's frustrating for sure," Columbus defenseman Erik Gudbranson said. "We've got a lot of young guys who are getting their first taste of the League and learning the ups and downs. When it's down, it's really down, and when you win, you have to find a way to keep it even-keeled and make sure you're not getting too high."

Pageau gave New York a 1-0 lead at 7:12 of the second period, jamming in a rebound after Hudson Fasching's shot trickled behind Korpisalo.
Pageau started the play by knocking away Johnny Gaudreau's intended drop pass for Adam Boqvist in the Islanders zone with one hand on his stick.
"I thought the play was dead, then all of a sudden it's in the back of the net," Fasching said. "That was a great play by [Pageau]. He started the play and finished it."

Barzal made it 2-0 at 16:39 with a one-timer from the left face-off circle off a pass from Brock Nelson after Sean Kuraly was unable to clear the puck.
It was New York's first power-play goal in 28 opportunities.
"That was an execution type of thing. I don't think it was a personnel type of thing," Islanders captain Anders Lee said of the power play. "It's a long season, and sometimes you go through a little bit of a dry spell, and we went through one. Maybe it was a little bit longer than we wanted."

Four of Barzal's eight goals this season have come in the past four games.
"Lately he's been shooting the puck more, and [that] leads to more success and leads to more opportunities," New York coach Lane Lambert said.
Bemstrom ended Sorokin's shutout bid with 22 seconds remaining in the third period when Marcus Bjork's one-timer deflected in off his chest in front.
"We didn't generate much tonight," Columbus coach Brad Larsen said. "I don't think some of our top guys had good nights. Give them credit, they take away your time and space. They're good at what they do."
NOTES: New York has won six straight against Columbus. … Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine (COVID-19 protocol) did not play. … Columbus forward Cole Sillinger returned after missing three games because of an upper-body injury. He had one shot, two blocks and two hits in 14:56 of ice time. … Islanders forward Casey Cizikas played his 700th NHL game.