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Canadiens Ride 3-Goal Flurry to Win, Eliminating Isles From Playoff Race
David Reinbacher made his NHL debut as Montreal scored three times in 55 seconds and eliminated the Islanders from playoff contention.
On Sunday at UBS Arena, the Montreal Canadiens defeated the New York Islanders 4-1, officially eliminating the Islanders from playoff contention while captain Nick Suzuki reached the 100-point mark for the first time in his career.
Everything shifted during a second-period sequence when Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky set up Suzuki to open the scoring, then Montreal capitalized on a high-sticking penalty against Islanders rookie Matthew Schaefer to score three goals in 55 seconds.
Casey Cizikas tipped in a Scott Mayfield shot to break a 118-minute scoring drought, but Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer said, "It's hard to win in this league with one goal."
Missing the postseason for the second straight year, the Islanders remain optimistic about rookie Matthew Schaefer's future, while DeBoer—hired last week to replace former head coach Patrick Roy—begins a three-year contract.
With 106 points, the Montreal Canadiens continue their push for the Atlantic Division title and home-ice advantage in the opening round, supported by goalie Jacob Fowler's 30 saves and defenseman Lane Hutson's three assists.