The New York Islanders completed a successful California road trip by beating the San Jose Sharks handily, 4-1, taking four of a possible six points from a rare late-season swing out West.With the Penguins being slaughtered by some Smurfs in Manhattan and the Panthers winning to continue breathing down the wild card holders' necks, it was an essential, must-win for the Isles. It vaults them back above Pittsburgh in the first wild card slot, and it keeps them three points ahead of the Panthers. Both Pittsburgh and Florida have two games in hand.Facing a 31st-ranked team that has one win since the trade deadline, the Islanders really had to get two points, and they took care of business convincingly after a slow start. The win sends the Sharks to a winless sweep of their four-game homestand.There were boos from the home crowd at the end Glenn Resch Jersey, but even those were half-hearted, as presumably everyone accepts they're all in for lottery position.[NHL Gamecenter | Game Summary | Event Summary | Natural Stat Trick | HockeyViz]The win was not without a price, however: Sebastian Aho left the game in the first after a high hit by Kevin Lebanc, who caught Aho while he was already being pursued by another Shark:Sebastian Aho has not played since this hit in the 1st period Isles Parise finds himself wide open, calls for it, and makes the perfect deflection Isles on MSGSN (March 19 https://www.newyorkislandersprostore.com/jean-francois-berube-jersey, 2023Up NextThe Islanders return home from the trip and host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, before a traveling back-to-back next weekend in Columbus and home to Buffalo.Just 11 games to go, some against fierce opponents and some against some pushovers.

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