Jets grab early lead, cruise to 5-2 win over Islanders

Morgan Barron scored early in the first period Monday afternoon for the visiting Winnipeg Jets, who never trailed in a 5-2 win over the New York Islanders in Elmont, N.Y.

Nico Niederreiter, Logan Stanley, Tanner Pearson and Mark Scheifele also scored for the Jets, who have won two straight following a season-opening loss to the Dallas Stars. Goalie Eric Comrie made 33 saves.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Emil Heineman scored for the Islanders, who are winless through three games for the first time since they opened 0-0-3 in 2009-10. New York is 0-3-0 for the first time since 2006-07.

Goalie Ilya Sorokin recorded 21 saves.

The Islanders collected the game's first six shots and seven of the first eight before a turnover led to Barron's goal at the 7:35 mark. Barron picked up the loose puck after Pageau fell deep in the Jets' zone and passed to Cole Koepke in the neutral zone. Barron raced up the ice, shed Alexander Romanov, took a pass from Koepke and shuffled to the backhand before beating Sorokin over his glove.

The Jets doubled the lead in the final seconds of a power play generated when Casey Cizikas was whistled for interference. Gustav Nyquist passed across the crease to Niederreiter, who tucked a shot into the left corner of the net as Sorokin was stuck leaning to his right with 8:12 left.

Pageau, playing in his 800th NHL game, redirected a shot by Tony DeAngelo 2:05 into the second, but Stanley scored just 14 seconds later when his shot glanced off Sorokin's stick and trickled beneath his legs.

Pearson started and finished the sequence that extended the Jets' lead to 4-1 a little more than 10 minutes later. The left winger picked up the puck after Romanov whiffed on a cross-ice pass and dished to Niederreiter, who bore in on Sorokin before sending a no-look pass into the crease to Pearson, who tapped the puck home at the 12:39 mark.

Heineman cut the deficit to 4-2 with 5:15 left, when he beat Comrie from the right faceoff circle.

The Islanders outshot the Jets 11-4 in the third, but Scheifele iced the win by scoring an empty-netter with 2:25 left.

--Field Level Media