Blue Jackets close the season with a 6–1 victory over the Islanders

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- — Cole Sillinger and Zach Werenski each had a goal and an assist and the Columbus Blue Jackets routed the New York Islanders 6–1 on Thursday night in the final game of the season for both teams.

A season that began with heartache over the death of Johnny Gaudreau left the Blue Jackets in the most unlikely of positions. A preseason pick to finish 31st in the NHL, they instead battled through all 82 games for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot that went to Montreal with the Canadiens’ win over Carolina on Wednesday.

Columbus ended the season with 89 points, good for fourth in the Metropolitan Division.

Dante Fabbro, Dmitri Voronkov, Sean Kuraly and Adam Fantilli also scored for the Blue Jackets (40-33-9), who won six straight to end the season and tied a franchise record with 57 home points. Jet Greaves stopped 36 shots and was 5:12 from his third straight shutout.

Hudson Fasching scored and Marcus Hogberg made 19 saves for the Islanders (35-35-12). They finished with 82 points, good for sixth in the Metro.

Takeaways

Islanders: New York lost steam late in the season, dashing any remaining playoff hopes.

Blue Jackets: Feeding off a sold-out home crowd, the Blue Jackets dominated with six goals from six players and set a season franchise record for goals with 267.

Key moment

Columbus broke it open with five goals in the second period, and Greaves stopped all 16 shots he faced during the frame.

Key stat

Werenski extended his points streak to six games and tied Artemi Panarin for the most assists in a single season in franchise history with 59. He also became the first defenseman to lead Columbus in scoring, finishing with 82 points.

------ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl