COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jaroslav Halak stopped 37 shots for his 37th career shutout to lead the surging Islanders to their fourth straight win, 4-0 over the winless Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.
Nikolay Kulemin gave the Islanders the lead late in the first period, and Thomas Hickey, Cal Clutterbuck and John Tavares all scored in the third period. Halak made a second straight start after returning from an upper-body injury sustained during the preseason.
The Blue Jackets extended their franchise-worst start and became the third team in the NHL’s modern history to open a season 0-7.
Curtis McElhinney finished with 25 saves and was steady throughout, making several key saves to keep Columbus within striking distance for most of the game.