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In their final game of March, the New York Islanders came away with a much-needed win. The 5-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings was only their fourth in the month, but at least they’re going out on a high note.
The Islanders team that showed up at Nassau Coliseum on Sunday was reminiscent of their early-season selves. A different Islander scored each of their five goals, while John Tavares recorded three assists. In the first two months of the season, New York posted three or more goals 15 times in 24 games (62.5 percent of the time). In the past month, they’ve done so only five times in 13 chances (38.6 percent). Although the Islanders haven’t made the playoffs yet (their magic number is seven points now), this is the type of hockey they’re going to need to play if they wish to be contenders for the Stanley Cup.
Surrendering four goals in the win, Jaroslav Halak had far from his best game of the season, but he was perfect when it mattered most — in the third period. Going into the final 20 minutes, the Islanders were up by one and Halak made several top-10-worthy saves. He was one of the reasons why the Islanders started so hot, and if he can keep up the clutch performances, New York has a good shot to make a deep run in the playoffs.
What was particularly impressive was the Islanders’ ability to rebound from a 2-0 deficit less than two minutes into the game; again, that was something this team had a knack for back in October and November. Get the idea here?
The Red Wings are in a similar situation to the Islanders, needing a win as they’re still in the Wild Card race. Beating a desperate team is a good sign, as this wasn’t a win that was given to the Islanders by a team that’s either clinched a playoff berth or is already eliminated. Both teams came into the game needing a win to get back on track, and the Islanders came out victorious.
One aspect of this game that didn’t entirely resemble the early-season Islanders was their success on special teams. For the majority of the season, New York has been far from great on both the power play and penalty kill. However, they scored three times on the power play today, and Cal Clutterbuck even scored a shorthanded goal, which would eventually be the game-winner. They did allow a power play goal to Pavel Datsyuk to bring the score within one, but the Islanders managed to hold down the Red Wings for the remainder of the game.
With only five games left (and three days of rest ahead), the Islanders must maintain this momentum. Despite the fact that three of the teams they’re set to face (they play the Columbus Blue Jackets twice) are no longer in playoff contention, the Islanders will still have a difficult task ahead of them. The past week pitted New York against some very tough teams, but they’re entering crunch time and will need to step up.
Matt Turner is a New York Mets Writer for www.RantSports.com. “Like” him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter @MTurnerNY, or add him to your network on LinkedIn or Google.
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