Islanders clinch playoff berth with win against Devils

NEWARK, N.J. -- Semyon Varlamov made 23 saves, and the New York Islanders qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 4-1 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Monday.

Varlamov has started seven of the past 10 games for the Islanders, going 6-1-0 with a 1.85 goals-against average and .939 save percentage in that span.

"Everybody wanted it, and that's how it is," New York coach Patrick Roy said. "The guys were very focused and dialed in and we had a strong game. We didn't give them much, and when we gave something [Varlamov] was really good for us. Our power play got one, and our penalty kill was really good (3-for-3)."

Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri each had a goal and an assist, and Pierre Engvall and Anders Lee each had two assists for the Islanders (38-27-16), who extended their point streak to eight games (7-0-1).

"The whole goal is to be playing your best hockey at the right time, and we're putting things together here to continue to build off a foundation that's putting ourselves in position every night to win," Lee said. "I think now you're seeing that night in and night out, that full 60-minute type hockey game. Whether it's the power play one night or the penalty kill one night, Varlamov or (Ilya) Sorokin, everyone's chipping in."

New York will finish third in the Metropolitan Division and play the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference First Round.

"It's been a bit of up and down, but the last few weeks we find ourselves in a spot where we can kind of put it in our own hands, and we string together a nice few weeks to get ourselves in," Nelson said. "I think this group and everyone here with the team believes in what we have here and what we're capable of and thinks we can get it done."

Timo Meier scored, and Jake Allen made 15 saves for the Devils (38-39-5), who lost four of their final five regular-season games (1-3-1).

"I hope that everybody remembers how it feels right now," New Jersey captain Nico Hischier said. "I think it [stinks]. It's just a little emptiness in there, but you can take things out of this year. Everything is easier when you're winning, but if not, that's where you can build character. For our group, we still have a lot of to learn. We got hit a couple of times in the face this year, went through some adversity, but I think if we take things the right way, we can bounce back with a strong effort next year."

Jean-Gabriel Pageau gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 12:22 of the first period, scoring with a one-timer from the left face-off circle off a pass from Engvall on a 2-on-1.

New Jersey allowed the first goal in 57 of its 82 games this season.

"Talent doesn't always bring you to the playoffs," Devils forward Jesper Bratt said. "I think we're missing out sometimes ... playing a little immature, playing a little too fancy. We can't really count on it in the hard games area and we need to come out ready every game to play instead of having to trail from behind two-thirds of the games."

Palmieri made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 16:52 of the first, redirecting a point shot from Mike Reilly.

Meier cut it to 2-1 at 3:25 of the second period. Bratt's initial shot went in and out of the glove of Varlamov, and Meier scored on the rebound.

Nelson pushed it to 3-1 at 11:48 when he picked up a loose puck in the slot and scored with a wrist shot.

"There's a lot of things I love about our game," Roy said. "I love how we move the puck offensively, I love how we defend defensively. I mean, I love the way we forecheck and the way we played together. Our guys are fun to watch, and I'm sure our fans are pretty proud of our guys right now."

Kyle MacLean made it 4-1 at 6:17 of the third period, jamming in a backdoor pass from Lee. MacLean is the son of Islanders assistant coach and former Devils forward John MacLean.

"It was pretty cool to score in this building," the 24-year-old rookie forward said. "I watched a lot of games here growing up and spent a lot of time here, so it was cool scoring that goal."

NOTES: Palmieri has nine points (five goals, four assists) during a six-game point streak. ... New York forward Mathew Barzal played in his 500th NHL game. He had two shots in 17:30 of ice time.