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.
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.
