Clutterbuck, Barzal help Islanders end skid, defeat Jets 6-3

Mar 23, 2024 | 1:17 PM

NEW YORK (AP) — Cal Clutterbuck scored twice, Mathew Barzal and Hudson Fasching each had a goal and two assists and the New York Islanders snapped a six-game losing streak with a 6-3 win against the Winnipeg Jets Saturday.

Kyle Palmieri and Anders Lee also scored and Semyon Varlamov made 33 saves for the Islanders, who remain outside a wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 12 games left in the regular season.

Vladislav Namestnikov, Mason Appleton and Cole Perfetti scored for Winnipeg, which has lost two in a row after an impressive win over the Rangers on Tuesday. Connor Hellebuyck gave up five goals on 26 shots before being relieved by Laurent Brossoit halfway through the second period.

Clutterbuck scored twice in the first period to give New York an early 2-0 lead.

Namestnikov pulled the Jets to within a goal as he snuck behind the Islanders defense and deftly danced around Varlamov at 11:20 of the first period.

The Islanders responded with four consecutive goals to take command.

Palmieri finished a cross-ice feed from Nelson at 15:47 to cap off a strong first period. Fasching, Barzal and Lee all scored in the middle frame to stretch the lead to 6-1.

Barzal put the exclamation point on a dominating win when he netted his 22nd of the season and stretched the Islanders lead to 5-1. Fasching slid a puck past Hellebuyck and Barzal buried the loose puck at 9:11 of the second period. Brossoit replaced Hellebuyck following the goal,

Nikolaj Ehlers fired a sharp-angled shot that created a rebound for Appleton to pounce on at 7:73 of the third period, while Perfetti returned to the Winnipeg lineup after being scratched the previous four games and scored his 15th late in the game.

UP NEXT:

Jets: Face the Washington Capitals Sunday to cnclude five-game road trip.

Islanders: Host New Jersey Devils Sunday

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

By: Scott Charles, The Associated Press