ELMONT — Kyle Palmieri recorded two goals and an assist, including the game-winning tally against his former team, and Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves as the New York Islanders defeated the New Jersey Devils 5-1 on Monday night at UBS Arena.
With the two vital points, the Islanders (38-28-9, 85 points) extend their lead for the No. 1 Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference to three points ahead of the idle Pittsburgh Penguins, who now have two games in hand. They did receive a boost from the Ottawa Senators, who defeated the trailing Florida Panthers to open up a six-point cushion between the Islanders and the drop out of the playoff picture with seven games remaining in the regular season.
For Palmieri, he remains red-hot when needed the most as his three-point night ups his total to 10 over his last six games.
“It feels feels good to contribute that way,” Palmieri said. “I struggled a bit with staying healthy, which I’m fortunate I feel good now and everything’s cleared up. So right now, our line [Palmieri, Pierre Engvall, and Brock Nelson] as a whole and our team is playing well. And we just got to keep that going.”
As for the Devils (46-20-8), it’s the first time this season that they lost a game by four goals as they continue to chase the Carolina Hurricanes for the Metropolitan Division lead.
The Islanders grabbed the lead 7:37 into the first period when Pierre Engvall tapped in an easy rebound left by goalie Vitek Vanecek after turning away a Palmieri breakaway chance. The former Devil shrugged off a check by Ryan Graves on a strong turn into the New Jersey zone to get in alone on Vanecek. He went to the backhand but was stopped by the goalie’s pads, but the puck lay wide-open in the crease for the on-rushing Engvall.
It was Engvall’s fourth goal in his 11th game with the Islanders after being traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs last month, bringing his season total up to a career-high 16.
“He’s understanding how we play as…
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