Cal Clutterbuck scored twice in a span of 3:28 in the first period as the New York Islanders emphatically snapped a six-game losing streak with a 6-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets Saturday afternoon in Elmont, N.Y.
The Islanders (30-25-15, 75 points) stopped their second-longest skid of the season and pulled within three points of the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Clutterbuck notched his ninth career two-goal game as the Islanders scored three in the opening period when they outshot the Jets 15-3.
Mathew Barzal also scored and added two assists for his fifth three-point game of the season and first since Jan. 11.
Kyle Palmieri scored in New York’s three-goal opening period. Hudson Fasching and Anders Lee scored in New York’s three-goal second period as the Islanders scored six goals for the fifth time this season.
New York backup goaltender Semyon Varlamov made 32 saves.
Vladislav Namestnikov scored in the first before Mason Appleton and Cole Perfetti tallied late in the third as the Jets (44-21-5, 93 points) dropped to 14-7-0 in their past 21 and dropped consecutive games for the first time since a five-game skid from Jan. 22-Feb. 8.
Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck allowed five goals on 26 shots. Backup Laurent Brossoit stopped 12 shots.
Clutterbuck opened the scoring 5:22 in by backhanding a rebound at the right edge of the crease after Winnipeg defenseman Neal Pionk misplayed the puck along the red line at the left side of the net.
Clutterbuck then finished off a partial 2-on-1 with Matt Martin with a shot from the right faceoff dot for a 2-0 lead.
Namestnikov made it 2-1 with 8:40 left when he slipped a backhander from close range past Varlamov’s blocker, but Palmieri converted Brock Nelson’s cross-ice feed with 4:13 left, and then the Islanders blew it open in the second.
Fasching swept the puck from the crease by Hellebuyck early in the second and Barzal scored off a scramble for a 5-1 lead with 10:49 left. Lee opened a 6-1 lead with about 4 1/2 minutes left by sweeping the puck by Brossoit after getting a feed from Barzal.
–Field Level Media