VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — New York Islanders goaltender Robin Lehner is more concerned about points for the standings than personal success.
Lehner made 36 saves for his fourth shutout of the season as the Islanders beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 Saturday.
Casey Cizikas, Ryan Pulock, Anthony Beauvillier and Cal Clutterbuck scored for the Islanders.
“Honestly, I just want to win, I just want to win with this team,” Lehner said. “Every point we get with this group feel amazing, we’re still pushing in the standings and we’re having a good year.”
Lehner has three shutouts in his last 19 games and 12 in his NHL career.
Jacob Markstrom had 20 saves for Vancouver, which lost its third straight game as it battled for a wild-card spot in the tough Western Conference.
“It’s a frustrating game for a goalie,” Markstrom said. “You really want to help your team. I didn’t have many shots today and you obviously want to keep the score down and help our guys.”
Cizikas opened the scoring 4:48 into the first period, taking a bouncing puck and tapping it past Markstrom. He has five goals in his last six games.
“Everybody in this room had a little chip on their shoulder,” Cizikas said. “We came out with four lines firing and we did a good job of hounding the puck and getting all over them and not really giving them too many chances, so if we continue doing that we are going to have more success.”
Devon Toews picked up an assist on the play, extending his point streak to five games. It was the rookie defenseman’s first NHL game in Vancouver.
The Islanders struck again at 14:05 in the first after Pulock was tripped by Vancouver’s Bo Horvat, drawing a delayed penalty.
New York pulled Lehner and took advantage with the extra attacker, patiently shuffling the puck around the edge of the Vancouver zone until Pulock got it at the top of the face-off circle and sent a slap shot over Markstrom’s left shoulder.
Beauvillier added another goal for the Islanders 2:34 into the third period, sending the puck up past Markstrom from the slot.
Clutterbuck added an empty-net goal with 1:14 left in the game.
The Canucks’ best chance of the night came on a power play midway through the second period after Brock Nelson was called for holding.
A shot from Ben Hutton clanked off the left post and the puck ricocheted off Lehner before New York defenseman Scott Mayfield scooped it off the goal line.
Some bad bounces contributed to Saturday’s defeat, said Vancouver coach Travis Green.
“Pretty good hockey team. We hit three posts, had a puck on the goal line on the second. It’s unfortunate,” he said, adding that his squad should be upset with the result.
“There’s nothing wrong with being frustrated right now,” Green said. “They’ll be frustrated tonight, we’ll talk to them tomorrow and get them ready to play in the next game.”
Still, the Canucks are hopeful that they can climb back into the playoff race.
“No one in this room’s going to quit. We’ve got to stay positive, keep pushing,” Markstrom said. “We’re going to get some wins.”
NOTES: Lehner now has three shutouts in his last 19 games and 12 in his NHL career. … Saturday marked the eighth time this season Vancouver has been shut out.
