COLUMBUS, Ohio -- New York Islanders goaltender Jaroslav Halak was perfect, which is the last thing the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets needed.

Halak made 37 saves and earned the 37th shutout of his career, steering the Islanders to a 4-0 win at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.

"The guys stood up tonight," Halak said. "We played a good game, played really well on the penalty kill.

"I had some rebounds tonight -- bad rebounds -- and our guys were there to clear it away. A couple of pucks got behind me, but we stood strong. It's good to see."

Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey and right winger Cal Clutterbuck scored goals in a span of 2:16 in the third period, quelling a late push from the winless Blue Jackets, who fell to 0-7-0.

It's not only the worst start in franchise history, but the seven straight regulation losses matches the worst start in modern NHL history (since 1967).

"You can't do anything but push forward," Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson said. "When everything is hunky-dorey, it's easy to stick together. This is when you have to stick together most."

Center John Tavares and left winger Nikolay Kulemin also scored for the Islanders, who won on the road for the first time this season.

The Blue Jackets were down 1-0 but pressing hard early in the third period, thanks to three minor penalties on the Islanders.

"That was our opportunity, right there," Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said.

Instead it passed, with a flurry of shots and two decent scoring chances, but no goals. And then the game slid away.

Hickey pushed the lead to 2-0 at 11:20 of the third when he picked off a pass from Blue Jackets defenseman Cody Goloubef and went the length of the ice for a 4-on-4 goal.

Clutterbuck pushed the lead to 3-0 at 13:36 of the third when he buried a wrister into the far corner of the net from the left faceoff circle.

Tavares netted an empty-net goal 3:14 to play to cap the scoring.

"It wasn't a 4-0 game, I can tell you that," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "It didn't feel like it, for sure.

"The pressured us. That team has no puck luck right now. It's good team. We're happy to get a couple of bounces our way and get out of here."

Columbus was shut out for the first time this season

Goaltender Curtis McElhinney, making his second straight start for struggling starter Sergei Bobrovsky, made 25 saves.

The Blue Jackets now face seven of their next eight games on the road, beginning Thursday in Minnesota.

History awaits against the Wild. The 1997-98 Chicago Blackhawks were the last NHL club to open the season 0-7, but no team since 1943-44 (the New York Rangers, 0-11) started with more than seven straight regulation losses.

Richards might not get a chance to match or surpass these records. Richards, who celebrated his 49th birthday Tuesday, is reportedly in jeopardy of being fired.

The Islanders took a 1-0 lead with only 1:02 remaining in the first period. Kulemin was on the doorstep when defenseman Marek Zidlicky found him with a perfect pass across the slot.

NOTES: The three longest-tenured Islanders -- C Frans Nielsen (10th season), RW Kyle Okposo (ninth) and LW Josh Bailey (eighth season) -- are playing together on a line for the first time in their careers and thriving. They each scored goals in Saturday's 6-3 win over San Jose. ... The Blue Jackets made a surprise healthy scratch of RW Cam Atkinson. "It's to give (Rene Bourque) at chance," Richards said. "We're 0-6. I think (Atkinson) -- and there are other people, too -- that we we need more from. We just need him to be better." ... Blue Jackets C Alexander Wennberg returned to the lineup after five games with a concussion. He was injured on a hit by New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider during opening night.