I almost don’t know how to write this. It’s been so long, how does it go again?? Well let’s give it a shot then; last night Kevin Poulin stopped 46 of 48 San Jose shots and the New York Islanders ended their dreaded ten game losing streak by defeating the Sharks by a score of 3-2 in a shootout. The Islanders were thoroughly outplayed for most of the game and the issues that haunt this team are by no means swept under the carpet. However, for today let us enjoy an Islander victory and worry about the rest tomorrow.
Kevin Poulin played his best game in his professional career and was the reason the Islanders were able to steal two points away from a very hungry Sharks team. Due to an inability to stay out of the box in the first period; Poulin was under siege stopping 18 shots in the opening frame. Unfortunately this is the type of performance that is needed for the Islanders to be successful right now. Their goalie needs to be the number one star if they want a chance to win especially with ZERO help from any forward not on the first line.
I commented last night that the Islanders remind me of a hockey video game where you can turn off the line changes because the only line that is doing anything is the first line. John Tavares, Thomas Vanek and Kyle Okposo were dominant in the third period sparking a comeback from a 2-0 deficit. However if they want to build off this win anyone else needs to score.
It is expected that Ryan Strome will make his debut tomorrow night and perhaps he can spark some secondary scoring that is needed like an oasis in the desert. By no means do I think Strome is the savior to all of the Isles problems but maybe his creativeness will help spark a dormant offense out of the bottom nine forwards.
But for one day, let’s just enjoy the two points. It’s nice to write about this team winning a game for once. I hope I can talk about a modest win streak come Friday morning. As always for more on all things hockey please follow me on twitter and instagram at @DanDanNoodles78.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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