The New York Islanders remained on their seven game road trip and at the same time started a critical two week stretch in their schedule. With Friday's game against the New Jersey Devils at the Rock, the next two weeks will see the Islanders take on a number of Metropolitan Division and Easter Conference opponents that are inching ever closer to the top. Fresh off a two game losing streak, the team made some changes for the Devils game. Josh Bailey came off of injured reserve and was replaced by Cal Clutterbuck (D2D with a UBI). Brian Strait got a rare start for Matt Donovan as Lubomir Visnovsky still remains out. Also, Capuano moved Mikhail Grabovski up to the top line as the team still looks for that permanent third wheel. Jaroslav Halak got the start against Kevin Kincaid, who played well the last time he faced the Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum.
There were a lot of "Lets Go Islanders" chants in the crowd as the game got started. As the Islanders have gotten better the fans are starting to travel with the team to offer support. The first period was a pretty boring. Not much to write home about. The Islanders got the only power play of the period and did not score and the rest of the period was mainly played in the neutral zone. The Islanders did not give the Devils anything to work with and out shot them 7-2 in the period. It was fun watching 68 year old Jaromir Jagar go one on one in the Devils zone. Its almost as if he was playing in slow motion. He created a lot of space with that huge bum of his and whenever he got the puck on his stick everyone else just stood around and watched. Sad to say, but that was the highlight of the period.
In the second, the Islanders played slightly better. The Devils got an early power play, but Halak stood tall. Michael Grabner got a good short handed chance but Kincaid, the Long Island boy was pretty sharp. The top line of Tavares-Okposo-Grabovski finally woke up and started to get some good chances as the period wore on. However, the Devils sprung out to a 1-0 lead with a give and goal from Travis Zajac. The score came after a play where Okposo broke his stick.
There was a very strong feeling at that point that it was going to be a very low scoring game. Matt Martin tried to shift the momentum by picking a fight with Mark Fraser. Martin got the best of him, but unfortunately that did not improve the scoreboard. Almost immediately thereafter, Tavares drew a penalty and the Islanders went on the power play. However, Tavares gave it right back when he committed his own tripping penalty. As the period wore on the Islanders started to get better chances. The Islanders out shot the Devils 13-11 in the period. It was starting to look like a three game losing streak.
For the past two games and for the first two periods of the Devils game the Islanders simply did not look like themselves. The entire team looking a bit off. As the third period started the Islanders seemed to have a bit more urgency. They would quickly tie the game at the one minute mark when Calvin deHaan took a great slap shot and Josh Bailey tipped it in for his 7th goal of the year. The Islander fans at the Rock started getting very loud. The score was tied and the Islanders had a chance to steal a win. Just as the fans got back into it Halak took them back out of it. For the second time this week he made a bad play behind his net and it cost him. Scott Gomez got an empty net goal after Adam Henrique stole the puck from Halak. It was a "DP-esque" type of a mistake. The Devils had their one goal lead back at 2-1.
As the period wore on it again started to feel like a three game losing streak was coming on. However, the Islanders effort throughout the last frame seemed like the old team that started the road trip on a high note. It was actually very encouraging to see. New York got a power play, but even though they could not convert, they did take advantage. As the penalty expired Okposo fired a blistering slap shot past the net which bounced off the glass to Tavares who knocked the puck off the back of Kincaid's pad before he knew what hit him. It was JT's 18th goal of the year from Okposo and Boychuk. Clutch play at a critical time. That got the Islanders to the overtime so they could at least leave New Jersey with a point. The Islanders won the shoot out contest (which they normally do) 31-23 for the game.
In overtime, both teams had chances. Then after three minutes there was a scrum in the corner in the New Jersey zone. Tavares came stole the puck from Henrique and stick-handled it straight to the net, put a deke on the defender and roofed it past Kincaid for the game winner and his 19th goal of the year. Right after the goal, Tavares threw his hands in the air and after seeing some Islander fans did the "Yes, Yes, Yes" chant which has become a staple at the Nassau Coliseum. The players mobbed the captain and you could tell everyone on the bench were both happy and relieved. At that moment it seemed that the team got their mojo back. JT willed his team to a win. That is what superstars do.
With the win in overtime, the Islanders took over sole possession of first place from the Pittsburgh Penguins who were idle on Friday. This was a huge win and even though they had not played well in the past seven days, the fact that they were in first place tells you a lot about where this team is right now. Now New York goes to Columbus to try to get back to back wins on Saturday night.
The goal is to get some confidence going into the Rangers game next Tuesday. They really need momentum because the game at Madison Square Garden is going to be a tough one. Even though the Islanders are right at the top of the standings, both the Rangers and Capitals are charging hard. It remains to be seen if the standings tighten up even more or if the Islanders can get their cushion back. With JT heating up, my money is on the later.
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