Saturday, February 23, 2019 10:00 PM (ET)

Lehner, Isles blank Canucks to snap skid

Field Level Media
Aug 21, 2012

Robin Lehner recorded his career-high fourth shutout Saturday night, when he stopped all 36 shots he faced as the New York Islanders snapped a rare losing streak with a 4-0 win over the host Vancouver Canucks.

Lehner had three shutouts last season for the Buffalo Sabres.

Casey Cizikas, Ryan Pulock, Anthony Beauvillier and Cal Clutterbuck scored a goal apiece for the Islanders, who salvaged the finale of a three-game swing through western Canada (1-1-1) to extend their Metropolitan Division lead to four points over the Washington Capitals, who suffered a 5-2 loss earlier Saturday to the Sabres.

The back-to-back losses to the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers earlier this week marked just the second losing streak in the last two-plus months for the Islanders, who are 22-6-3 since Dec. 15.

The Canucks have lost three straight (0-2-1) and eight of 10 (2-6-2) to fall five points behind the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche -- the two teams currently holding the two wild-card spots in the Western Conference.

Goalie Jacob Markstrom made 19 saves.

An impressive second effort by Cizikas led to the only goal the Islanders would need early in the first. Cizikas fell down as Markstrom deflected a shot by Johnny Boychuk, but he got back up in between a pair of Canucks defensemen, Ben Hutton and Troy Stetcher, and poked home the rebound at the 4:48 mark.

The Islanders doubled their lead a little more than nine minutes later when Pulock's shot from the left faceoff circle sailed into the far corner of the net with 5:55 left.

Following a scoreless second period, the Islanders extended the lead after an odd-man rush early in the third. Valtteri Filppula raced up the left side of the ice and passed across the Canucks zone to Josh Bailey, who immediately dished to Beauvillier, who already had his stick on the ice and fired a shot between Markstrom's legs 2:34 after faceoff.

Clutterbuck put the game away with an empty-netter with 1:14 remaining.

--Field Level Media

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