Islanders drown Sharks with dominating 4-1 win

NEW YORK (AP) — Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson each had a goal and an assist and the Islanders beat the San Jose Sharks 4-1 Saturday night.

Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock also scored, Marcus Hogberg made 18 saves and the Islanders snapped a two-game skid.

Barclay Goodrow scored for San Jose and Alexandar Georgiev finished with 27 saves as the Sharks lost for the fifth time in six games (1-5-0).

Barzal scored on a breakaway for his sixth goal of the season at 8:47 of the second period to open the scoring.

Goodrow tied it with a wrist shot from the half wall that sailed past Hogberg’s blocker just past the midpoint of the period.

Nelson put the Islanders back ahead for good just 40 seconds later, and Dobson made it 3-1 with 27 seconds left in the period.

Pulock added to the lead at 1:03 of the third.

Islanders forward Maxim Tsyplakov did not play and is currently serving a three-game suspension following a high hit against Flyers forward Ryan Poehling on Thursday.

The Islanders inducted Brent Sutter to the franchise’s Hall of Fame prior to the game. Sutter won two Stanley Cups with the Islanders and finished with 363 goals and 466 assists in his 19-year NHL career.

Takeaways

Sharks: 19-year-old forward Will Smith skated alongside Mikael Granlund and Fabian Zetterlund for the first time. San Jose selected Smith with the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.

Key moment

Islanders quickly regained the lead and momentum 40 seconds after Goodrow tied it midway through the second period. Nelson skillfully elevated a rolling puck past Georgiev on a pretty feed from Kyle Palmieri.

Key stat

The Islanders improved to 17-4-4 when they score at least thee goals (including shootout winners and are 1-16-3 when they do not.

Up next

Sharks visit the Boston Bruins Monday afternoon, continuing their five-game road trip while the Islanders host the Columbus Blue Jackets Monday evening.