Islanders Beat Blue Jackets 1-0 to Reclaim Wild-Card Spot

In a tense, playoff-caliber showdown at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, the New York Islanders secured a 1-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday night, reclaiming the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Bo Horvat's early goal and Ilya Sorokin's stellar goaltending proved decisive in the low-scoring affair, as the Islanders snapped a two-game losing streak while halting Columbus's impressive 12-game points streak.

Horvat struck just 1:25 into the first period, converting a pass from Anders Lee with a snap shot past Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves from the right circle. The tally, the earliest in an Islanders 1-0 win in franchise history, stood as the game's lone score in a matchup marked by tight checking and limited opportunities. Sorokin, New York's netminder, backstopped the shutout with 26 saves, including 13 in the third period when Columbus mounted pressure. The performance marked Sorokin's NHL-leading seventh shutout of the season and his 29th career blank sheet, tying a franchise single-season record shared by Glenn "Chico" Resch and Semyon Varlamov.

Greaves finished with 21 saves for Columbus, which controlled play at times but...