Semyon Varlamov makes 24 saves to help the Islanders beat the Canucks 5-2

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Semyon Varlamov made 24 saves, Anders Lee had a goal and an assist and the New York Islanders beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 on Thursday night.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Scott Mayfield, Pierre Engvall and Noah Dobson — into an empty net — also scored for New York. The Islanders were coming off consecutive 4-3 overtime losses, at home against New Jersey on Saturday and at Edmonton on Tuesday night.

Jonathan Lekkerimaki scored his first NHL goal early in the first period for Vancouver, and Tyler Myers finished the scoring late in the third.

Dakota Joshua returned to action for Vancouver after surgery for testicular cancer. . He skated on the fourth line with Nils Hoglander and Aatu Raty.

Islanders: Mayfield, Engvall and Dobson scored their first goals of the season.

Canucks: Vancouver fell to 2-3-3 at home and 8-4-3 overall.

The Islanders put it away with their first two shots of the second period. Just 14 seconds in, a harmless-looking point shot from Mayfield hit two Canucks players’ sticks before beating a surprised Kevin Lankinen. Less than two minutes later, Engvall banged home a rebound from in tight.

Vancouver had just three shots in each of the first two periods.

The Islanders are at Seattle on Saturday for the third stop on a five-game trip. The Canucks have a weekend back-to-back, hosting Chicago on Saturday night and Nashville on Sunday night.

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