Isles defeat penguins gain breathing room.
Islanders 2 Penguins 1
Isles win puts 5 points between them and pens.
March 8 2016
The Islanders earned a gritty hard fought win against the penguins. They struck twice on the power play, getting goals from John Tavares (24) and Anders Lee (12).With this win the Islanders now lead the Penguins by 5 points for the 3rd spot in the metropolitan division with 2 games at hand over Crosby's Penguins. The Rangers hung on to win in Buffalo to keep pace with the Islanders. The Rangers are 3 points ahead of the Islanders for the 2nd spot in the division, but the Isles are in a good spot with three games at hand over the cross town rivals.
It wasn't all good however, after one of his best games of the year, Jaroslav Halak injured his groin and had to leave. Greiss came in to relieve him and made 3 huge saves in the final 5 minutes to preserve Halak's 200th career win.
The Islanders have now won 7 of their last 8 games. I am very encouraged by their recent play. They remind me a lot of how they were last year, even when they don't get their best efforts they still find a way to win and gut out games. That is what good teams do. While I am very upset with the lack of activity at the deadline by the front office, the teams play over this last stretch has really encouraged me. Highlighted by excellent win over 2 top of the division rivals in the Rangers(6-4) and then the Penguins(2-1).
While Tavares and Lee were the goal scorers last night, Nick Leddy assisted on both goals as he continues to impress. He also caught a penguin from behind on a short handed breakaway with his world class speed. He truly has become a first rate defenseman. He has a couple of end to end rushes per game and his speed neutralizes multiple odd man rushes night in and night out. The fact that he was not named to the US world cup team is a travesty to me. The isles also got great efforts from Okposo, Lee and Halak. Just before scoring the game winning goal Lee was battling with constant cry baby Kris Letang in front of Fleury. Letang cross checked Lee in the head and in response Lee put Letang on his backside like he was a small child. Lee then deflected the Nick Leddy point shot into the net and before he could celebrate Letang took a baseball swing at Lee's legs with his stick and went after him. Letang then whined to the refs like always because he was made to look like a fool.
After making his 32nd save of the night Halak winced while in a split and then laid on the ice. He had to come out of a game where he looked top notch. While Greiss came in to save the game and has looked great all year with the best save percentage on the NHL among goalies who qualify (.930). It is yet to be seen if he can carry the load as the #1 guy until Halak can come back. Luckily the Isles have Berube on their roster, he is an unproven prospect so far in major NHL work. While the Isles are in a great spot right now, they will need to get solid efforts from Greiss and Berube to preserve 3rd in the division and possibly overtake home ice in the first round by leap frogging the Rangers. Groins are tricky injuries for goalies in this age of butterfly goaltending, which puts tremendous strain on the groin. Especially when making your side to side push. It is an injury that can linger and nag at a goalie for a long time. The Islanders will need a team wide effort to compensate during Halak's absence.
But overall the Islanders seem to have recaptured the magic of last season. They are playing with speed and grit. They are also finally getting in on the forecheck and playing a puck possession game which they have lacked for so much of this season. They still are awaiting the return of their puck possession king, Mikhail Grabovski, to return from injury. He is skating in a non contact Jersey.
The isles are also playing great in their own zone. Keeping teams to the outside, and clearing the puck when they can. The penalty kill stayed on track killing off every penguin power play, including huge kills in the third. Their power play struck twice as well. The isles are also getting solid goaltending, with the exception of sunday vs. The Rangers.
The Islanders face the Maple Leafs in Toronto tonight. While they a playing a very poor opponent who is 0-6 in their last 6 games. However the Islanders will be playing on back to back nights, as well as traveling to Toronto. The Canadian customs workers are notorious for holding up visiting American teams at the border. It will also be the Islanders 3rd game in 4 nights, and the first 2 were emotional games against division rivals in a playoff race. Tonight's game in Toronto has let down written all over it. The Isles will need to get on the Maple Leafs early, get a lead, and take the fight out of Toronto's young team and just hang on.
Islanders are 37-20-7- 81 pts- Won 4 -64 games played
