Islanders get past Blue Jackets, move into wild card

COLUMBUS -- Noah Dobson scored the go-ahead goal at 3:21 of the third period, and the New York Islanders defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 at Nationwide Arena on Thursday.

Dobson made it 3-2 when he scored on snap shot from the face-off right circle for his first goal in 14 games since March 7.

“I was just happy to contribute,” he said. “Obviously, a big goal at a big time of the game. It’s nice to get that one and get a big win.”

Kyle Palmieri scored into an empty net at 19:22 for the 4-2 final.

The Islanders (34-27-15) moved into the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Washington Capitals and the Detroit Red Wings, and tied the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division, one point ahead of the Capitals. Washington lost 4-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.

“It does feel like a playoff game for us every night,” New York forward Mathew Barzal said. “We’re fighting for our season right now. These are the best games of the year really. This is why you play. Everyone comes together with one goal in mind and that’s to get in.”

Pierre Engvall and Bo Horvat scored, and Barzal and Alexander Romanov each had two assists for the Islanders, who have won three straight and four of five. Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves.

Kirill Marchenko had a goal and an assist, and Dmitri Voronkov scored for the Blue Jackets (25-39-12), who had won two straight and have been eliminated from playoff contention. Jet Greaves made 24 saves on 25 shots after replacing Daniil Tarasov, who made 13 saves before leaving with an upper-body injury at 17:53 of the first period.

The Blue Jackets played without forward and leading scorer Johnny Gaudreau because of an illness, and defenseman Jake Bean left at 12:30 of the third with an undisclosed injury after blocking a shot. Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said Bean is going to be out “for a while.”

“We have character in this group and we're not going to give up,” Columbus forward Alexandre Texier said. “We’re going to play like it's fighting for the playoffs. That's how we should be. That's our job. We are in the NHL, and we’ve got to do it.”

Engvall gave New York a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 7:53 of the first. He ended an 11-game goalless streak dating to March 11 by tipping a shot from the left point by Ryan Pulock.

Voronkov made it 1-1 on the power play at 9:45 for his first goal in 13 games since March 7.

Horvat put the Islanders ahead 2-1 at 13:48, scoring for a third straight game.

Marchenko tied it 2-2 at 17:22 from behind the net, extending his goal streak to three games. He flipped the puck off the mask of Sorokin at the left post for his 21st goal, matching his total from last season as a rookie.

“It happened so quick,” Marchenko said. “I remember [Sidney] Crosby goals like, six maybe, years ago. He scored two goals just shooting [at] the head. It's in my head. I think about that. If I have opportunity, I try to do it.”

Tarasov left the game after Blue Jackets defenseman David Jiricek inadvertently clipped him in the side of the head with his hip while the goalie was covering the puck at the left post. Vincent had no update on him.

“It's hard to see Daniil going down like this,” Vincent said. “He's been playing so good, created some momentum for himself and for the team and just unfortunate.”

Greaves, in his fifth NHL game, stopped all 14 shots he faced in the second period.

“It's about winning hockey games at the end of the day,” he said. “So, there's obviously things to improve and some positives to take from it, as well.”

Islanders coach Patrick Roy liked the way his players stayed composed.

“Our mindset was really good,” he said. “We didn’t get frustrated because it was a 2-2 game. … Team effort was really good. It was a big goal by Noah so I was happy to see him scoring that goal, but more than that the way he was playing defensively. He had a strong game defensively.”

NOTES: Barzal has nine points (three goals, six assists) in his past eight games. … Horvat has scored in three straight games for the third time this season (March 5-10, Dec. 15-19). … Voronkov’s 18 goals are the third-most in a season by a Blue Jackets rookie, trailing Marchenko and Pierre-Luc Dubois (20 in 2017-18).