The Upshot: NY Islanders shut down Jets 4-0 on the road

HOW IT HAPPENED

The NY Islanders came into Canada Life Centre and dominated the Winnipeg Jets in a 4-0 shutout victory. New York set the tone in the first period by only allowing a single shot on goal from Winnipeg through the first 20 minutes while finishing with 11 of their own. Bo Horvat broke the ice at 7:56 with a shorthanded goal that he shot through the legs of Josh Morrisey, which acted as a screen for David Rittich in goal. In the second period, the Jets made up for the lack of shots by putting up 14, but could not solve Semyon Varlamov, who stopped all 23 he faced in the game. Alexander Romanov got the monkey off his back by netting his second of the season with a beautiful rising shot from the blue line that hit the top corner above Rittich's glove to make it 2-0.

Near the end of the period is when Winnipeg began taking the majority of their shots and appeared to be gaining momentum. That was until Brock Nelson picked up the puck in the Jets' zone, deked past Kyle Connor, and ripped a hard shot past an unsuspecting Rittich to make it 3-0 Islanders entering the locker room. The Isles played conservatively in the third period and did not break at all, leading to an Adam Pelech empty net goal intended to be a clearing attempt off the boards that somehow found its way to the gaping cage.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

The Jets certainly did not have their best night at all and fans of the team can say that they did not look ready to play, but the Islanders did a great job at taking advantage of that. They limited Winnipeg's room to shoot in front of Varlamov early on, with most of the shots missing the mark through deflections or a scoring angle being cut off. Blocks were another stat that the blue and orange dominated in, with 24 compared to Winnipeg's nine. Even when shots got through to Varlamov, he stood up to the task and made key saves when he needed to which resulted in a big shutout on the road for an Islanders team that remains in the first wild-card position in the Eastern Conference.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Not too much can go wrong when New York gets a shutout against one of the better teams in the Western Conference after losing their previous game against the LA Kings. One complaint that fans could have is the lack of offensive zone time and only registering four shots in the third period, but the Islanders complimented that by disrupting the Jets offense every chance they could. Josh Bailey also slotted back into the lineup today and looked rusty, but he is returning from an injury. He played on the fourth line with Arnaud Durandeau and Otto Koivula.

STATS OF THE GAME

According to Eric Hornick in The Skinny:

• This is the second straight season that the blue and orange have shutout the Jets in Winnipeg.

• Nelson now has points in 16 of his last 17 games and has hit a new career high in points with 60.

• The Isles have won six straight third periods, outscoring the opposition 9-0.

• The Islanders have now won eight straight games that they have scored shorthanded in.

SOCIAL MEDIA MOMENT OF THE GAME

The Islanders bring legend, Brian Trottier back for more festivities that included watching the game with season ticket holders and premium members along with co-owner Jon Ledecky. A cool moment for those that live and breathe New York Islanders.

WHAT'S NEXT

Minneapolis will be the Islanders' next destination to play the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night. Puck drop is at 8:00 PM.