Isles’ streak hits eight with win over Devils
Kieffer Bellows scored his first two goals of the season early in the third period and the Islanders rallied to beat the Devils 3-2 on Saturday at Prudential Center for their eighth straight victory.
Oliver Walhstrom also scored and Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves to help the East-leading Islanders extend their points streak to 11 games at 10-0-1.
The winning streak is the longest for the Islanders since they won 10 in a row last season. The team record is 15 in early 1982.
Pavel Zacha and Janne Kuokkanen scored for the Devils, who have lost 10 straight at home. Mackenzie Blackwood made 26 saves for the Devils.
Islanders coach Barry Trotz, who put Bellows on his top line with Anders Lee out indefinitely with a leg injury, said the 19th-overall pick from the 2016 draft has developed.
“Kieffer was handed the ball at the start of the year and did OK but then we started rolling a little bit and he had to sit,” Trotz said. “He’s trying to make a statement, he sees an opportunity, and he seized it for one game. Let’s see if he can do it again. But I was impressed.
Bellows tied it at 2, taking a pass from Mathew Barzal and beating Blackwood from between the circles at 1:59 of the third period.
Playing in his first NHL game since Feb. 18 and only his ninth of the season, Bellows put the Islanders ahead at 5:10. He took a pass from Jordan Eberle in center ice then made a power move from the right circle and beat Blackwood in close.
“Obviously, scoring one gives you confidence to go out there and make some more plays and you know it gives you confidence score more,” said Bellows, the son of former NHL player Brian Bellows said. “But without Ebs and Barzie on both those plays, I wouldn’t have scored either.”
Zacha gave the Devils the lead early in the first period and Walhstrom tied it later in the period with a blistering shot on a rush.
Kuokkanen gave the Devils the lead at 1:04 of the second period, diving to poke a rebound into an open net. He has goals in three straight.
Veteran Travis Zajac said the team needs to remain focused despite the recent skid.
“It does no good looking at the standings or being worried about what other teams are doing or where we are,” said Zajac, who had an assist on the Kuokkanen goal. “It’s a waste of energy. Our energy is going to be spent on trying to win one game and go from there and break it down to even smaller things, win your shift. win a period, and play the right way.”
The teams will be back in Newark late Sunday afternoon for their third straight game against each other.