COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Damon Severson broke a scoreless tie in the third period, Elvis Merzlikins stopped 28 shots for his first shutout of the season and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the New York Islanders 2-0 on Wednesday night. It was the first time this season the Blue Jackets (5-3-1) have won two straight, but they have earned seven of a possible eight points in their last four games. After both goalies turned away some great shots in the first two periods, Severson’s shot from a sharp angle on the right caromed off the skate of New York defenseman Ryan Pulock and into the net 5:43 into the third.
It was Severson’s second goal of the season. Semyon Varlamov made 24 saves for the Islanders (3-5-2) but was pulled for a sixth skater with 2:30 left. Justin Danforth then scored an empty-netter 27 seconds later.
JETS 6, RED WINGS 2 DETROIT (AP) — Kyle Conner had a goal and two assists to top 500 points for his career, and Winnipeg beat Detroit. Neal Pionk scored two goals for the Jets while Gabriel Vilardi had a goal and an assist, and Nino Niederreiter and Colin Miller also scored. Connor Hellebuyck made 19 saves to help Winnipeg bounce back from its first loss of the season against Toronto on Monday.
Connor, who entered the game with 499 career points, extended his season-opening point streak to 10 games. He has 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) this season. Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat scored power-play goals for Detroit, which has lost three straight.
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