Senators shut out Islanders, close in on East wild card with 4th straight win

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Linus Ullmark made 23 saves, and the Ottawa Senators moved five points ahead of the New York Islanders in the Eastern Conference wild-card race with their fourth straight win, 3-0 at UBS Arena on Saturday.

It was Ullmark’s third shutout of the season for Ottawa, which was a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill, allowing only three shots on goal. Ullmark has started each game during the winning streak.

“The way that the guys battled in front of me, making sure that they didn't really have any opportunities to set up a long extension time in our own zone, speaks volumes,” Ullmark said. “They did a great job on the entries and everything. When we needed the clears, we got the clears.”

Ridly Greig scored short-handed and had an assist, Jake Sanderson scored on the power play and Michael Amadio had a goal and an assist for the Senators (43-27-10), who can clinch a Stanley Cup Playoff berth if the New Jersey Devils defeat the Detroit Red Wings in any fashion later Saturday (5 p.m. ET; FDSNDET, MSGSN).

Ottawa visits New Jersey on Sunday.

“Huge, huge win,” Greig said. “Yeah, 60 minutes. A gritty win, a gritty road win. Yeah, you love to see it. … It's an exciting time, the best time of year. Two months ago, it was maybe a little ugly, but our team is confident. I think we always knew we were going to be in this spot.”

The Senators played the last 18:03 without captain Brady Tkachuk. 

“He just wasn’t feeling well,” coach Travis Green said.

Ilya Sorokin made 13 saves for the Islanders (43-32-5), who have lost five of their past six games and remained one point behind the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division with two games remaining. Philadelphia visits the Winnipeg Jets later Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, NBCSP).

New York hosts the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday.

“I liked a lot of the things we did,” said Peter DeBoer, who lost for the first time as New York’s coach (1-1-0). “We defended well. We didn't give up much. We created some stuff. I thought the short-handed goal obviously took some of the momentum away from the first period. I thought we were on our toes, and then it turned into a lot of special teams the rest of the way.

“They won the special-teams battle. It's tough to win in this league, this time of year, if you don't win the special-teams battle.”

Greig gave the Senators a 1-0 lead with a short-handed goal at 13:06 of the first period. With Drake Batherson in the box for holding, Islanders defenseman Tony DeAngelo lost the puck to Amadio at Ottawa’s blue line before feeding Greig off the rush. Greig finished with a backhand over Sorokin’s left pad.

“The short-handed goal is on me,” DeAngelo said. “I’ve got to just decide to stay back there. I thought I had it, to be honest, and I didn’t get puck or body. So, I’ve got to take responsibility for that shorty.”

Sanderson made it 2-0 at 12:36 of the third period during a 5-on-3 power play. Sorokin stopped a one-timer from Dylan Cozens before Sanderson stuffed the puck in from the crease.

The goal came after Ullmark closed the five-hole at 1:28 to deny Calum Ritchie’s power-play try from the top of the crease, then got a piece of a Marc Gatcomb’s rush shot with his right arm at 10:01.

Amadio scored an empty-net goal at 17:29 for the 3-0 final.

“We’ve talked about playing 200-foot hockey -- not just tonight but all year, really,” Green said. “That was a really good example of it. I thought [the Islanders] played a hard game; they didn’t give up much either. There was not a lot of room out there for either team, and we just found a way to win a game.”

NOTES: The victory moved the Senators ahead of the Boston Bruins for the first wild card in the East; each team has 96 points with two games left, but Ottawa has six more regulation wins (37/31). … Grieg’s goal was the Senators’ eighth while short-handed this season; the Carolina Hurricanes lead the NHL with 12. … The Islanders played without forward Max Shabanov because of an upper-body injury. He was replaced by Kyle MacLean, who did not have a shot on goal in 8:19 of ice time.

Amadio scored an empty-net goal at 17:29 for the 3-0 final.

“We’ve talked about playing 200-foot hockey -- not just tonight but all year, really,” Green said. “That was a really good example of it. I thought [the Islanders] played a hard game; they didn’t give up much either. There was not a lot of room out there for either team, and we just found a way to win a game.”

NOTES: The victory moved the Senators ahead of the Boston Bruins for the first wild card in the East; each team has 96 points with two games left, but Ottawa has six more regulation wins (37/31). … Grieg’s goal was the Senators’ eighth while short-handed this season; the Carolina Hurricanes lead the NHL with 12. … The Islanders played without forward Maxim Shabanov because of an upper-body injury. He was replaced by Kyle MacLean, who did not have a shot on goal in 8:19 of ice time.