The Isles got a much needed win yesterday defeating the Colorado Avalanche by a score of 5-1 at Barclays Center. Despite pulling away in the final half of the game, the first 30 minutes were a struggle. The Isles were able to take advantage of numerous carless penalties and cashed in twice on the power play. Not only did they score twice with the man advantage but the six power plays allowed the Isles to take control of the game.
J. F. Berube stopped 26 of 27 shots that he faced. He was a little shaky to start but over the course of the game Berube settled down making some key saves. It is difficult to play as little as he does and still step in and be sharp. I’m still cautiously optimistic about his role with the team and perhaps some more starts will allow Berube to remain fresh. The Isles will finish the season with many back to back games and they cannot make the playoffs without solid play from their backup goalie.
As for the offense, the team continues to generate chances up and down the lineup. The top line is flying and Anders Lee continues to be rewarded for getting his nose dirty on every shift. The signing of Jason Chimera is proving its worth as he continues to solidify the bottom six forwards and we are finally seeing signs of life from Brock Nelson and Ryan Strome.
I have said for some time that I won’t take this team seriously until they go on a 15-3-2 type run. Well we are starting to get to that conversation as the Isles are 10-3-2 in their last 15 games and New York now sits only one point behind the Maple Leafs for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The team they trail is the team they face tomorrow night as the Isles are in Toronto to face off with the Leafs. The two teams combined for 11 goals as the Isles defeated the Leafs 6-5 in overtime last week. Prepare for another exciting game tomorrow night as playing Toronto is like playing a 13 year old on Playstation or Xbox. Also prepare again for more boring narrative revolving around John Tavares becoming a Leafs in a year and a half. Regardless of all the noise, the two points on the line tomorrow are critical.