Islanders dump Devils, clinch playoff berth

Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson each had a goal with an assist as the visiting New York Islanders clinched a playoff berth with a 4-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Monday in Newark, N.J.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Kyle MacLean also scored while Pierre Engvall and Anders Lee each added two assists as New York (38-27-16, 92 points) secured third place in the Metropolitan Division and improved to 7-0-1 this month. The Islanders recorded just 18 shots on goal but made the most of their chances to gain a postseason berth for the fifth time in six seasons.

Timo Meier scored his team-best 28th goal for the Devils (38-39-5, 81 points), who ended a disappointing season with their seventh loss in nine games (2-6-1).

New York recorded just five shots on goal in the first period but made two of them count. The Islanders' first official shot came with 7:38 remaining in the opening frame when Pageau converted off a two-on-one with Engvall.

Just 4 1/2 minutes later, the Islanders made it 2-0. Positioned perfectly in front of the Devils' net, Palmieri tipped in Mike Reilly's shot, via Nelson, from the point for New York's first power-play tally in five games.

New Jersey cut the deficit in half 3:25 into the second period. The Devils' Jesper Bratt sent a shot on net, but New York netminder Semyon Varlamov (23 saves) couldn't completely glove it, and Meier was there to convert.

The Islanders regained the two-goal advantage at 11:48 of the middle frame. Coming off a two-goal game against the New York Rangers on Saturday, Nelson found the puck amid some slot traffic and beat New Jersey's Jake Allen (14 saves) for his 33rd goal.

New York padded the advantage 6:16 into the third when Lee kept control of the puck with one hand on his stick through zone traffic. He then sent it over to Livingston, N.J., native MacLean, who worked to push the puck by Allen.