The Columbus Blue Jackets hosted the struggling New York Islanders Wednesday and both defenses ruled the roost until Columbus scored early in the third period on a shot that ricocheted off an Islander’s skate. An empty-netter late in the period made it 2-0 for the Blue Jackets’ second victory in a row.

Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikins was coming off a win Monday against Edmonton in which he stopped 31 of 32 shots, the only Oiler goal coming with 26.8 seconds remaining in the contest. On Wednesday, he made stops on all 26 shots, to give him a save percentage over the last two contests of 98.3.

“It’s definitely not just me,” said Merzlikins after the game. “It’s [the] team. They helped me a lot. They’re really working hard for this. This is our shutout.”

As expected, the Islanders played a tough defensive game as well. It was a slog for both offenses through the first two periods. Early in the third, it appeared that the Blue Jackets scored when Damon Severson sent one into the net from the right circle. It was quickly ruled that James van Riemsdyk had interfered with Islander goaltender Semyon Varlamov in the crease and the goal was taken off the board.

Severson came right back at the 5:43 mark. From the right corner, he sent one to the net where van Riemskyk was tangling with New York defenseman Ryan Pulock. The shot caromed off Pulock’s right skate and past Varlamov for the goal.

“I saw JVR in front, battling with the guy. He was out of the paint that time,” Severson joked, “so I figured it would be a better opportunity for him to score, but I just got lucky hitting the D-man’s skate to go in.”

The rest of the third period was much like the first two frames, with the defenses in control. The Blue Jackets’ final goal came with 2:03 left in the game when Justin Danforth wristed a shot into the Islanders’ empty net.

After scoring six goals in each of their last three wins, the Jackets showed Wednesday that they could compete in a low-scoring tilt. “It’s nice to play different ways,” said head coach Dean Evason.”[and] learn how to win hockey games when we’re not scoring six goals.”

Columbus has won three of its last four games, while the Islanders have lost four of their last five. The Blue Jackets are right back at it Friday when the very hot Winnipeg Jets come to town. The Jets are 9-1, having won their first eight games of the season. The puck will drop at 7:00 p.m. Friday.