Islanders 2, Blue Jackets 0
UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Right winger Cal Clutterbuck and defenseman Travis Hamonic scored for the New York Islanders Sunday afternoon and goaltender Evgeni Nabokov made 41 saves in a shutout as the Islanders embraced the role of spoiler with a 2-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nassau Coliseum.
Clutterbuck scored in the first and Hamonic doubled the lead in the final minute of the second in support of Nabokov, who recorded his third shutout of the season and the 58th of his career.
The Islanders (27-35-9), who are all but assured of missing the playoffs for the sixth time in the last seven years, won for the third time in their last five games as they damaged the postseason hopes of the Blue Jackets (36-29-6), who have lost two in a row and three of their last four.
Columbus, which is looking to snap a five-season playoff drought and qualify for the postseason for just the second time in the franchise's 13-season history, began the day one point behind Detroit and Washington in the race for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. The Red Wings host Minnesota later Sunday while the Capitals are off.
Power-play struggles once again doomed the Blue Jackets on Sunday. Columbus went 0-for-6 on the man advantage and is scoreless in its last 36 power-play opportunities dating back to March 4.
Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves.
The Islanders took the lead at the end of a frantic sequence with 6:34 left in the first. Center Johan Sundstrom passed from behind the Blue Jackets' net to center Frans Nielsen, who was fighting for the puck with Columbus left winger Matt Calvert. But the puck squirted free and to Clutterbuck, who fired a shot past Bobrovsky.
Nabokov made a series of impressive saves in the second to preserve the one-goal lead, including turning back center R.J. Umberger on consecutive attempts to punch in a rebound of a shot by left winger Nick Foligno a little more than five minutes into the period.
With 6:39 left, Nabokov smothered Foligno's shot with his midsection. Nabokov appeared to think the shot sailed behind him and looked surprised when the puck bounced out of his uniform.
The Islanders squandered their two power-play opportunities in the second -- Nielsen had two shots bounce off the sides of the net during the second power play -- but extended their lead on a power-play goal with 52 seconds left in the period, when Hamonic carried the puck coast-to-coast before scoring on a wrist shot from the faceoff circles.
The Blue Jackets' power-play struggles continued early in the third, when right winger Cam Atkinson hit the right side of the net with a shot and Artem Anisimov couldn't punch in a rebound.
Later, Nabokov turned back a shot by defenseman Fedor Tyutin as well as a pair of attempts by center Boone Jenner to punch in the rebound. He also made a scoop save of a shot by Atkinson with a little more than 14 minutes left.
The Blue Jackets had two power plays in the waning minutes, including one after they pulled Bobrovsky, but Nabokov made a series of impressive saves to preserve the shutout.
NOTES: The Islanders had five scratches, including the injured trio of RW Michael Grabner (concussion), D Brian Strait (broken hand) and D Lubomir Visnovsky (upper body). Grabner has missed four straight games. Strait and Visnovsky were hurt Tuesday against Minnesota. LW Eric Boulton and D Radek Martinek were healthy inactives. ... D Thomas Hickey is the only Islanders player to play in all 71 games this season. New York has lost 173 games to injury. ... Six players were inactive for the Blue Jackets, including the healthy quintet of RW Jared Boll, RW Matt Frattin, D Frederic St. Denis, D Nick Schultz and RW Corey Tropp. D Ryan Murray, who underwent knee surgery on March 7, was also scratched. Boll was a healthy scratch for the third straight game since returning form injured reserve on Wednesday. He has not played since Nov. 22, when he suffered an ankle injury that required surgery. ... G Sergei Bobrovsky has started 19 straight games for Columbus -- including the March 10 game at Dallas postponed after the Stars' Rich Peverley collapsed on the bench in the first period -- since Jan. 28, when Curtis McElhinney took the loss against Ottawa.