New York Islanders Continue Win Streak After Defeating the Anaheim Ducks

New York Islander Cal Cutterbuck skates past the bench and celebrates after scoring last night against the Anaheim Ducks.

The New York Islanders continue to dominate with superior defence and the execution of timely scoring, and that came through in full glory on Sunday night as they annihilated the Anaheim Ducks 3-0 earning Robin Lehner a shutout.

New York’s Cal Clutterbuck had a big night scoring twice on a night that saw Lehner with 19 saves. Also scoring for the Islanders was Leo Komarov and assists were awarded to Josh Bailey, Anthony Beauvillier, Scott Mayfield, Adam Pelech and Devon Toews.

The win was New York’s fifth in the row and their 15th out of the last 18 games played. The success has seen the New York Islanders pass the Capitals and Blue Jackets to take first in the Metropolitan Eastern Division and are now sitting in fifth place overall in the league.

Robin Lehner believes the Islanders come out with a lot of energy adding that as a team they work hard and frustrate other teams. Lehner improved to 15-7-2 added,

“You have to set the tone and there’s no reason to deviate now. We are playing our game.”

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New York scored first while on a power play when Cal Clutterbuck slipped the puck past Chad Johnson with slick passing skills. It was the sixth game in a row that the Islanders were first to score. With Josh Bailey’s assist, he is now tied in 12th place on the all-time assist record with the Islanders with 279. Bailey also tied team captain Anders Lee in points at 37.

Clutterbuck earned his second of the night halfway through the first to put New York up 2-0, and it was nearly identical to that of his first. Commenting, Clutterbuck said,

“There’s a lot of confidence in the way we are playing and it’s nice to get a couple. It’s an affirmation that the style we have and the work we’ve been putting in is a winning structure.”

This is the sixth year Clutterbuck has played with the Islanders and was been a big part of its success this year having scored twice in their 2-0 win against the Washington Capitals on Friday. Punters following the Islanders will be interested to learn that when the Islanders score three or more in a game, they are 25-2-1, and that is valuable information when placing bets on future games with leading sportsbooks such as Spin Palace Sports.

While New York has been performing at the top of the league, Clutterbuck understands that the season is still young. Komarov scored his sixth of the year as the second period came to a close, and with the Ducks unable to capitalise on opportunities, it gave Lehner his 11th win out of the last 12 games,

At 27, Lehner, who was released by the Sabres last year, has been a blessing for the Islanders after signing a one year contract. Commenting, Lehner said,

“The defence is just helping me out and working hard. The last three games have been amazing — Jersey, Washington, we have really suffocated them.”

New York has one remaining game against Chicago before breaking for the All-Star game as does the Anaheim Ducks, who will play a home game against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.

Author Noah is our American writer who likes to give his own spin on everything Golf & the NHL he covers mainly the US side of the game as Doug covers the Canada. In his time off he can usually be taking to the greens or on the ice playing some hockey