COLUMBUS, Ohio _ The Islanders' push for their first playoff berth since 2016 was met with some considerable pushback from the Blue Jackets.
It would still take a considerable collapse for the Islanders to miss the postseason. But their chances of finishing first in the Metropolitan Division took a hit with a 4-0 loss to the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena.
It was a methodical win for the Blue Jackets as they took advantage of the few Islanders' mistakes. As the Islanders often do to their opponents, most of their chances came from the outside.
The Islanders (44-26-7) were shut out for the fifth time and the third time in five games as they fell three points back in the division as the first-place Capitals beat the visiting Hurricanes.
Trotz opted to start goalie Thomas Greiss (29 saves) after Robin Lehner was in net for a 4-2 win at Philadelphia on Saturday and made 31 saves for his fifth shutout in Sunday's 2-0 win over the Coyotes at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum.
But Greiss had backstopped the Islanders to wins in their first three games against the Blue Jackets, including 31 saves apiece in a 3-0 win at Columbus on Feb. 14 and a 2-0 victory at the Coliseum on March 11.
Sergei Bobrovsky earned his eighth shutout with 26 saves for the Blue Jackets (42-30-4), who have won two straight but remain two points behind the Canadiens for the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot.
Earlier on Tuesday, president and general manager Lou Lamoriello announced forward Andrew Ladd would undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Trotz used it as a chance to re-insert rookie Michael Dal Colle, a healthy scratch the previous eight games, back into the lineup in Ladd's spot on Brock Nelson's right wing with Josh Bailey.
"Any time you're in the lineup, you've got to treat it like it's your last game," Dal Colle said. "That's the way I play. You want to make an impression and you want to play as much as you can. You've got to prepare like every game is your last game."
Unlike these teams' past two games, it was the Blue Jackets who played with the lead and squeezed the Islanders' defensively. That was especially true after defenseman Johnny Boychuk turned the puck over at the Blue Jackets' blue line and Artemi Panarin's breakaway made it 2-0 at 2:38 of the third period. Oliver Bjorkstrand's short-side wrist shot from the left after an odd bounce off Boychuk's clearing attempt around the glass pushed it to 3-0 at 11:14. Cam Atkinson added an empty-netter.
The Blue Jackets had taken an early lead after the Islanders were caught with too many men at 4:00 of the first period with Casey Cizikas caught over the boards. That led to Ryan Dzignel's power-play goal from the left circle to make it 1-0 at 5:43.
It also snapped Greiss' shutout streak against the Blue Jackets of 157:10 and his string of 80 straight saves against them.
