Islanders put forth top-notch effort, control Jets in 4-0 win

If the Islanders do squeak their way into the playoffs this season, it’ll be because of an ability to sustain efforts like the one they put together on Sunday afternoon in Winnipeg.

In one of their more complete efforts of the season against the second-place team in the Central Division, the Islanders emphatically defeated the Jets 4-0 at Canada Life Centre.

Bo Horvat, Alexander Romanov, Brock Nelson, and Adam Pelech each recorded a goal while goaltender Semyon Varlamov — who was sharp in his sporadic moments — recorded his second shutout of the season and his 13th as an Islander with a 23-save showing.

It’s imperative that the Islanders rack up as many points as possible given their precarious standing as the top-seeded Wild Card team in the Eastern Conference. The Buffalo Sabres, who have played five fewer games, temporarily moved to within one point of the Islanders when they defeated the Washington Capitals earlier on Sunday.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings, who each have also played five fewer games are four and five points back of the Islanders, respectively.

An early power-play goal for the Islanders was wiped away when it was deemed that Anders Lee’s redirection on a Noah Dobson slap shot that beat Jets goalie David Rittich was done with a high stick just 1:30 into the game.

They did find a breakthrough via special teams, though it was while they were shorthanded. Moving down the left wing on the penalty kill during a Sebastian Aho tripping infraction after clearing the zone himself, Horvat snapped a screened wrister just as he crossed the Jets’ blue line that beat Rittich just inside the opposite post 7:56 into the game.

It was a rare dominant first period for the Islanders, who looked to rebound well from being dominated by the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night at UBS Arena. In the opening 20 minutes, they outshot the Jets 12-1.

Romanov doubled the Islanders’ lead 4:22 into the second period when he clapped a heavy slap shot through a screen over the glove side of Rittich. He was given plenty of time to wind one up thanks to Casey Cizikas’ marauding skate from the right wing, behind the goal, and up the left boards before feeding the defenseman for the goal — just Romanov’s second of the season.

The Jets stabilized and began to show why they’re one of the top teams in the Western Conference when they dominated the majority of the remainder of the second, but it was the Islanders who found the next goal.

Zach Parise managed to clear the Islanders’ zone up the left wing despite taking a heavy hit by the Jets bench for a rushing Nelson, who entered the Winnipeg zone, cut between the circles, nutmegged defenseman Brenden Dillon and fired a wrister home for his 27th goal of the season.

The veteran forward remains red-hot as the goal tallied at least one point in 16 of his last 17 games (12 G, 9 A).

Continuing their strong effort into the third, the Islanders saw things out in a fashion that became commonplace over the previous four seasons under ex-head coach Barry Trotz — who is about to re-join the Nashville Predators as GM. Holding off a Winnipeg push and limiting the hosts to just eight shots in the final 20 minutes, Pelech put the game away with an empty net goal from his own zone with a bank shot off the boards 2:01 remaining.