Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin stopped 20 shots to earn his first career win as New York won 3-0 on Monday in Buffalo, New York. Jeffrey T. Barnes/Associated Press
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Ilya Sorokin stopped 20 shots to earn his first NHL win, and the New York Islanders defeated the Sabres 3-0 to complete a two-game sweep of Buffalo on Tuesday night.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau and captain Anders Lee scored in a 7:15 span in the first period, and the Islanders improved to 5-0-3 in their past eight — the team’s longest streak since a 15-0-2 franchise-record run in the opening two months of the 2019-20 season. Lee added an empty-net goal in the final second, and Pageau extended his scoring streak to four games, in which he has five goals.
The 25-year-old Sorokin improved to 1-2-1 in making his first start since a 25-save outing in a 4-3 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Jan. 31. Selected by New York in the third-round of the 2014 draft, he spent the previous eight seasons playing in his native Russia, where he won 25 or more games in each of his past four seasons and led the Kontinental Hockey League with nine shutouts last year.
The Sabres were blanked a night after they failed to register a shot in the third period in a 3-1 loss to the Islanders. This time, they came up empty — and even had a goal disallowed — on eight shots over the final 20 minutes.
Islanders Coach Barry Trotz was successful in challenging offside to negate Victor Olofsson’s power-play goal with 6:59 remaining. Replays clearly showed Sabres captain Jack Eichel entering the zone before the puck 22 seconds earlier.
CAPITALS 3, PENGUINS 1: Conor Sheary and Jakub Vrana scored in the second period, and Washington stopped a four-game slide by winning in Pittsbrugh.
Lars Eller also scored for Washington, and Vitek Vanecek stopped 26 shots in his 11th straight start.
Pittsburgh won its first five games at home, including three against the Capitals. Zach Aston-Reese set a career high with his third goal in as many games, and Tristan Jarry made 39 saves for the Penguins.
Washington allowed 22 goals during its losing streak. That included six on Sunday against Pittsburgh in the Capitals’ first game in a week thanks to a series of COVID-19-related postponements.
The Capitals were at full strength Sunday after three-plus weeks of COVID-19 roster disruptions. They looked the part two nights later, securing their first win this month.
DEVILS 5, RANGERS 2: Yegor Sharangovich and Nicholas Merkley scored in the third period and New Jersey sent New York to its fourth straight loss, in New York.
Pavel Zacha, Will Butcher and Mikhail Maltsev also scored for New Jersey, which returned to action for the first time this month after an extended pause due to a COVID-19 outbreak. Mackenzie Blackwood made 37 saves and Janne Kuokkanen added three assists in the win.
Colin Blackwell and Pavel Buchnevich scored for the Rangers. Igor Shesterkin recorded 32 saves in his third straight loss.
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