No one needed a win more than Marty Biron. He knows of his unique situation, as he told the throng of reporters gathered around him in the locker room.

But it almost was another loss, however, Bruno Gervais tied the game at two with less than a minute left of the second. Yes, I said BRUNO GERVAIS. That’s the second time this season he has impressed me. Then again, that’s only his second goal of the season. Freddy Meyer scored the first Islanders’ goal of the game. That too was a bit of a surprise.

For me, a bigger surprise for the evening was the display of frustration by Andy Sutton. Joel Ward put the Predators up by one at 13:51 of the second which caused Sutton to skate over to Biron’s net and beat his stick over the top until it shattered into splinters. I was shocked as I watched and Biron stayed out of his way. Andy skated back to the bench and the slamming of the bench door echoed in the arena.

I asked Marty if he said anything to Andy by the net. “I didn’t say anything. I just tried to stay out of the way. He was mad -- The big man was mad. I don’t want to be standing there when he breaks a stick. You know, Keith Ballard and Vokoun, (where Ballard whacked his own goalie in the head with his stick.) Guys show emotion. That’s simply part of the game. And things like this sometimes can cost us the game. So the show of emotion is to make sure everybody is ready for the next shift. So… I don’t mind that. I haven’t broken a stick in awhile, but sometimes it happens.”

I was surprised that man of the minute, or should I say, man of “the 11.1 seconds remaining in the third,” Mark Streit, wasn’t available in the locker room. Without his 41 ft. wrist shot, Sullivan’s early 3rd period goal would have been the game winner for the Preds. That would have certainly made our guest, Mark Willoughby from TheViewfrom111 happy, but it would have made the rest of the Islanders faithful (those of the 11,487 in attendance NOT in Predators jerseys) completely disheartened at an eight straight loss. Streit would have none of that as the puck hit the back of the net and at least one point belonged to the Isles.

There is a footnote to the wondrous on-ice celebration. Streit scored with a two man advantage. The Predators #10, Erat had taken a boarding penalty and Scott Gordon had pulled Marty Biron from his net. Basically, the Islanders need to find a way to play with a two man advantage all the time and they’d be at the top of the standings. None the less, the game was heading into overtime and I had already packed up at the five minute mark, as usual, and was ready to head downstairs to hear about another loss. My plan to be prepared was foiled.

During the five minute overtime, Moulson had a nice pass to Andy Sutton who had a nice shot which was a nice save by Rinne. (BTW, if you can get out today with this snow, don’t forget your Wendy’s Chili for the three goals.)

The horn sounded and the thought of heading into a shoot out made me start to laugh out loud. The students from Columbia University sitting next to me wondered if I had lost my mind. Marty Biron, who hadn’t seen an NHL game since December 27th was now facing a shoot out. Nothing like a little pressure in this (what has been deemed) showcase situation.

Just as Garth Snow had previously said about Nielsen’s shoot out move, “No matter how many times you see it, it’s still hard to stop.” Renne couldn’t stop it either. Nielsen scored for the Isles and it was Marty facing Sullivan. Marty stopped his shot and my heart stopped as well.

Mr. Shoot Out, Robbie Schremp, (Clean shaven for the fans. Inside joke.) came up a little slow and it seemed like an easy save for Renne. Legwand came in fast with a backhand shot on Biron, but he managed to block it. It was Matt Moulson’s turn to win the game, if he could. He didn’t. Sorry Matt.

Then an odd thing happened at the other end of the ice. Erat came in on Biron and Marty came out to challenge him with a poke check. He was sprawled out on the ice as the puck went in the empty Islander net. If my WTF wasn’t audible, I will be surprised.

John Tavares finally remembered what it felt like to watch a puck hit the back of the net as he put one over the left side of Renne. It turned out to be the game winner which earned him the first star of the game.

I asked Marty what the heck he was thinking with that move he made on Erat.
“I thought he was a left hand shot that likes to make a lot of moves. He came down and I saw him put his head down low and I thought I could surprise him, but maybe he was a little too far out. I probably could have waited a little bit before throwing that out there. Sometimes you just go with “feel,” with what you think. It didn’t work but the other ones – Sullivan, I wasn’t sure. I kinda felt him out and that’s what happened. I think that’s what sometimes happens. It works; sometimes it doesn’t work. You saw Brodeur do that the other day… Sometimes it’s just how you feel."

Marty Biron had us all so engaged in the locker room, that many of us missed Scott Gordon’s post game. But with ITV on the scene, I’ve always got a way to hear what he had to say.

Scott Gordon: “We’re obviously happy for Marty. I don’t think you could ask for a better team mate." That’s an understatement, Scott.

“ Whether it’s these four games or the remainder of the season, every game is important. If we want to still believe we have a chance to make the playoffs, it starts with the game we’re playing. The two points are nice, but we have a game tomorrow against Pittsburgh which isn’t going to be easy. The two points tonight will have more significance if we can put together an effort that allows us to win the game tomorrow.”

The other feel-good story of the evening, Matt Martin was praised by his coach in his post game. “During the game, he was elevated to the first string. I went to watch Bridgeport play two weeks ago and the first thing I recognized about Matt Martin was his willingness to stand in front of the net.” (hmmm… Matt Moulson used to have that “willingness” too. It netted him at least 16 of those 21 goals he has so far. But I digress.) If you watch him close enough, he’s probably as close as anybody I’ve seen as being comparable to the guy in Detroit. Not that he’ll have the same offensive proficiency, but just the fact that if it’s five on five, or the power play, it’s the willingness to go there. Here he is with two assists in his opportunity of his first NHL game to be on the power play. It says a lot. There’s too much value to have that net presence for any line, for any player. We’ve talked about Matt Moulson and his ability to get goals (Wait, I just said that! Cool! Validation!) because he has a willingness to go to the net and it’s the same thing with Matt (Martin).”

Back in the locker room, young Matt Martin admitted to having a few butterflies to start, but then gained his confidence in his first few shifts. He also gained a 2 minute minor less than ten minutes in as well. “As soon as I got into the rhythm of the game, it’s the same game, just a little quicker. I felt really confident in my game and felt that I can be an NHLer and I can play at this level."

It seems a few people think you can as well, Matt. And they are the ones that count the most.

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