A Very Sweep Win

I woke up at 6:00 AM in Hong Kong and got ready for the long trip home.  It would take almost 24 hours to fly to Atlanta through Chicago.  I was sure to miss the Islanders game so I asked Kellie to DVR it for me.  When we arrived in Chicago, we were able to shorten our layover and get an earlier flight home.  That meant I would be able to get to see part of the game.  I was able to listen to the first period driving home from the airport and caught the last two periods at home back in the man cave.

The Islanders came into the game in a tailspin.  They had lost four games in a row, three at home with a bad loss against the Blackhawks in Chicago last Thursday.  With only ten games left in the season, the division championship seems to be out of reach.  However, positioning for the playoffs is up for grabs so each game is critical for the playoff push.  More important than that, they needed to get their swagger back and soon.

New York traveled to New Jersey to play the Devils at the Prudential Center (a.k.a., "The Rock"). New Jersey is clearly out of the playoff hunt coming into the game ten points behind the struggling Boston Bruins.  These teams are hard to play against because teams with nothing to lose play wide open and care free.  They do no have to be concerned with making mistakes.  As an Islander fan we know what it is like to be that team on the outside looking in.  Is is nice to be on the other side.

New York had won all three previous games against New Jersey earlier this year every way imaginable (i.e., a regulation win, an overtime win, and a shootout win).  It did not matter how the won this game, all that counted were the two points that were up for grabs.  Jaroslav Halak was back in net after missing one game with a lower body injury.  

It is funny, but I am sitting here at Starbucks writing my hockey blog and just as I am writing "Jaroslav Halak is back in net", there are three people sitting next to me reading scripture and talking about "Satan" and "The Son of G-d".   If you go to Starbucks, be careful where you sit.  Oh my....I just realized that I am writing about the Devils game.  I think I know the theme for this story.

The forwards remained the same and Matt Donovan remained on the blue line in favor of Calvin de Haan.  I have noticed recently that the healthy scratches for the Islanders have not been happy sitting out.  However, with a nearly healthy team, it is smart to not only rest some players, but also to create some competition.  The message is simple.  Play better or you will be sitting in the press box

As I got in the car, the puck dropped as I pulled into Burger King.  Yes, I said it, Burger King.  I had to get a chicken sandwich because I stumbled into one while in Hong Kong and ordered something that was called a "chicken sandwich" but looked unlike something I had ever seen.  It went straight into the trash can.  I needed to redeem myself and restore my faith in Burger King so I stopped to get some crispy deliciousness.  

Right as I placed my order, the Islanders got on the board.  Nickolay Kulemin bulled his way into the corner and knocked a Devil off of the puck (which was the righteous thing to do) and stole the puck (which I think is against one of the ten commandments).  Kulemin then passed the puck to Ryan Strome in the slot and he made amends by firing one past Corey Schneider for a 1-0 lead halfway through the first period.  It was Strome's 15th of the year.  The Islanders defense tightened up and they left the period with the lead.  After getting off to a slow start the Islanders came back and out shot the Devils 13-9.

In the second period, Halak stood on his head.  The Devils started to fire more shots on net and many of them ended up being very good scoring chances.  There was no scoring in the period and only one single penalty as Travis Hamonic went to the sin bin to sit two minutes for hooking.  I am not sure why New Jersey did not commit more penalties.  You would think that New Jersey would be committing penalties left and right,  After all they are the DEVILS. New Jersey's pressure led to more

With the Devils coming on and a slim one goal lead the Islanders were playing with fire.  A single mistake and the game could be lost.  Halak continued to stop everything that came his way.  An interference penalty gave the Islanders powerless play a chance to ice the game, but true to form it failed to deliver...well sort of.  

Just mere seconds after the penalty expired, Brock Nelson found Ryan Strome who made a nice feed to a wide open Travis Hamonic to make it 2-0.  It was a great play by Strome for his second point of the game.  Hamonic netted his 5th goal of the year.  An empty netter by Kyle Okposo sealed the 3-0 win.  For the first time in a very long time, the defense was able to close out a convincing win.

Next up for the Islanders is a four game home stand, starting with the Minnesota (Ex-islanders) Timberwolves on Tuesday followed by games against the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings.  Your truly will be at the latter three games and will be reporting the action live and in person from the dilapidated Long Island Marriott.

Overall, it was a good win for the Islanders as they swept the season series against the Devils.  It gives them a little momentum heading into the last part of the season.  Points are critical this time of the year.  If Halak can get on a hot streak and if Mikhail Grabovski can come back from his upper body injury then the Islanders should be in good shape for a playoff run.

It seemed that the Devils were due for a win in this series, but the Islanders needed it much more than the Devils did..  It showed in their effort.  The fans were there in force and you could clearly here "Yes! Yes! Yes!" chants throughout the Prudential Center. Is was a very sweep win indeed.