Isles win 3-2 over the Leafs in a hard fought, sometimes tense and chippy game. It was apparent, the Leafs were going to do whatever they had to, but the Isles played smart. They outshot the Leafs and out hit them. They even kept Phil Kessel off the score sheet. Oh, who am I kidding? Kessel keeps himself off the score sheet.

Brain Strait with Shannon Hogan had a real hard time hearing her with the fans continuing to chant “Yes! Yes! Yes!” And followed by “First Place.” The Isles now have 73 points. One point behind the Eastern Conference leading Lightning. But they are first place in the Metro division.

“It was a good thing where we were able to get pucks in and get pucks on net.” So simple. Strait is another one who has been in and out of the line-up more than he wants to count. He has been a key component. “It’s something I’ve been working hard on, I’ve been out of the line up trying to get back in; when I do, I’m trying to take advantage of the opportunity. I’m grateful.”

Colin McDonald must also be pretty grateful right now. “We have a lot of depth on this team,” Strait continued as he struggled to hear his own voice over the crowd. “That’s what makes us such a great team. We’ve been lucky enough that we haven’t had a lot of injuries, but we have a lot of guys that can step right in and contribute. Everyone is going to get their chance.”

Personally, I think they’ve had quite enough injuries, especially losing Okposo. But they have been winning. They’re not pretty wins, but they are wins. “Anytime you get a chance to get two points, you get ‘em. This is where we really have to make some hay and push towards playoffs.”

And the fans have been with them. Ah yes, winning does cure everything, including attendance woes. “It’s a complete 180 from last year, it’s been so much fun. They’ve been here every game. The “yes! Yes! Yes!” thing is one of my favorite things!” Strait saluted the crowd before he left Shannon and MSG’s little studio.

Anders Lee was the first star of the game having netted the first goal of the game and the game winner. Jack Capuano was analytical in describing Lee. “I think he’s been that player. When you have the determination to get to the front of the net, you’re gonna get a lot of goals.” And a beating. But he doesn’t seem to mind.

The fourth line came through for Jack again with Casey Cizikas scoring off a rebound left by a Colin McDonald shot. They gave a point to Matt Martin too just to round things out. “These guys work extremely hard. They play high percentage hockey. I talk about it all the time. I thought that line did really well tonight. THEY HAD MORE MINUTES THAN SOME OF THE OTHER LINES.” Dig…. Dig…

“We want to continue to play on our toes, continue to play our structure. We did a good job keeping it to the outside. We defended well. Guys battled, had good sticks and good physicality.”

However, without Jaro Halak in net, the outcome of games like these would be much like previous seasons: dreadful losses. “If you talk to him, he’ll credit the team and the players. His focus is his work ethic every day. When you work hard, good things happen. He’s come to the rink every day with that attitude.”

With 30 wins on the season and the bulk of the games under his belt, the question of whether Jaro is overworked came up. Chad Johnson hasn’t seen much ice time. “He’s not overworked. We analyze it after every game and moving forward we’ll see where we are at.” Meaning, Johnson will be in net when he’s needed and he’ll be ready to give it everything he’s got.

The 30 wins for Halak this season ties Rick DiPietro for most wins in a season by an Islander goalie, and Jaro is just climbing higher. Mike Bossy broke it down like this, “No one thought he would have the season he is having this year. I’m so impressed. Good on him and good on the rest of the team by showing up and backing him up all the time.”

Bossy didn’t sugar coat the win though, “You can’t play one period. Toronto’s skating got so much better after the goals they scored. A testament to how well they’re playing is they’ve won 3-2 against Buffalo, 3-2 against Edmonton and 3-2 against Toronto. They’re not convincing wins, but its six points and that’s what’s most important at this time.”

When it comes to the hockey world outside of the tri-state area, Bossy feels the Isles are still flying under the radar. Anders Lee is in second place in the rookie goal scoring race. Today he graced the back cover of Newsday. As Shannon pointed out, Anders Lee may not be a household name – yet. But “Winning brings notoriety.”
And that is what the Islanders are doing; becoming Notorious!

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