Hockey roundup: Isles move three points up on Wings for final wild-card spot

Mar 27, 2026 - 09:30

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Hockey roundup: Isles move three points up on Wings for final wild-card spot

Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) congratulates rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer (48) after recording an assist in the third period against the Stars at UBS Arena.

The New York Islanders claimed two big points Thursday in their quest for a playoff spot with a 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars in Elmont, N.Y.

Bo Horvat scored to reach the 30-goal mark for the fourth time in his career, and Calum Ritchie added his 11th for the Islanders (41-27-5, 87 points). Matthew Schaefer assisted on both goals, while Emil Heineman and Ryan Pulock also recorded assists.

Ilya Sorokin was 2:59 away from a shutout, making 26 saves in the victory. Combined with Pittsburgh's win over Ottawa, the result moved the Islanders back into the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.

The Islanders are also three points ahead of the Red Wings, who began the night only one point out of the playoffs. Detroit will be in Buffalo Friday to face the first-place Sabres.

Matt Duchene scored for the Stars (43-18-11, 97 points), who lost for their fourth straight, their longest skid since going 0-3-3 from late December to early January.

Jake Oettinger, pulled after one period in his last start against New Jersey, nearly matched Sorokin by making 23 saves.

After a disappointing home loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday that put the Islanders on the outside of the playoff picture, they responded with one of their better games of the season.

Horvat put the Islanders ahead less than five minutes into the contest, taking the feed from his linemate Heineman and beating Oettinger on his stick side from the left faceoff circle.

Sorokin, who leads the NHL with seven shutouts, missed out on another, but he still fared well against one of the league's more dynamic offenses. He stopped 11 shots in the second period, including a point-blank save on Mavrik Bourque with less than a second remaining in the period after Jason Robertson took the puck away from Adam Pelech in the corner.

Ritchie doubled the Islanders' lead with 17:41 left in regulation, thanks to Schafer's shot from the point bouncing in off Ritchie's skate. With 54 points (22 goals, 32 assists), Schaefer is now tied with Hall of Famer Denis Potvin for the second-most points by an Isles rookie blueliner.

Dallas pulled Oettinger with 4:11 to go, and just over a minute later, Thomas Harley made an incredible diving stop at center ice to deny an Islanders breakaway on the empty net. Instead, he got the puck back in the attack zone, leading to Duchene's goal.

Canadiens 2, Blue Jackets 1

Zachary Bolduc scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and assisted on Montreal's other goal in a 2-1 win for the Canadiens against the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.

Jayden Struble also scored for the Canadiens (40-21-10, 90 points), who have won three straight. Jakub Dobes made 25 saves.

Damon Severson scored and Jet Greaves made 18 saves for the Blue Jackets (38-23-11, 87 points), who have lost two of their last three games.

Bolduc put Montreal ahead 2-1 at 4:36 of the third. He received a cross-ice feed from Jake Evans on the rush and snapped it short side from the left circle.

The Blue Jackets controlled the game through the first half of the first period, building up an 8-1 advantage in shots on goal and 16-1 in total shot attempts in the first eight minutes.

But it was the Canadiens who struck first to take a 1-0 lead at 9:54. Lane Hutson won a puck battle behind the net and rimmed it down the right wall to Bolduc. Bolduc took the puck to the middle above the circles and fed it to Struble at the left faceoff dot, with the defenseman firing a snap shot short side over Greaves' right shoulder.

Hutson's assist on the tally was his 70th point of the season (11 points, 59 assists), becoming the fourth different defenseman in franchise history to reach the mark.

Severson converted on a 2-on-1 rush to tie it 1-1 at 12:17 of the opening period. Struble couldn't control a puck in the neutral zone and Boone Jenner collected it. He skated down the left side as Severson jumped up to join him and then dished it under Struble's stick over to Severson, who wired it past Dobes' blocker from the right hash mark.

Columbus had its best chance to take the lead with just over two minutes remaining in the second period. Severson spotted Mason Marchment between Montreal's defenseman inside the Blue Jackets' blue line and sprung him with a pass for a breakaway, but Dobes extended his left pad to deny Marchment's backhand attempt.