The Islanders were able to get back into the win column in front of a sparse PNC Arena last night in Raleigh, North Carolina. There were many Isles fans that did make the trip and their YES, chants could be heard on television as the Isles defeated the Hurricanes by a score of 4-1. This game was by no means perfect as the Islanders looked hung over from their loss to the Rangers twenty four hours earlier. Despite the slop, they played good enough to beat a struggling Carolina team and grab two much needed points.
Chad Johnson got the start in net and he turned away 37 of 38 Carolina shots. While the Hurricanes did out shoot the Islanders it didn’t feel like the ice was tilted. Carolina did have a big push in the third and did have a goal over turned but the Isles were able to fight through and secure the two points.
New York’s play in their own end is still too sloppy and their breakout has been poor this past week. By not being able to get the puck cleanly out of their own end, they find themselves chasing the puck far too often and when you chase the puck you eventually chase it out of your own net. This team simply needs to get back to basics and play a cleaner game. The turnovers in the neutral zone have to stop. There is no other way around it.
With that being said the team played well enough to win. Anders Lee continues his strong play as he netted his 19th goal of the year. I was quite confident that Anders’ game would translate into NHL success and it clearly has. Lee plays a game that not many others are willing to play. He is simply an unmovable object in the crease and scores dirty, ugly goals. He has the hands for pretty goals, but if he can net 20 ugly goals each year he will be a consistent 30 goal scorer in this league.
Brock Nelson’s tear against the Hurricanes continued as he scored the second goal of the game and it appeared as the weight of the world lifted off his shoulders. Hopefully this will calm him down and he will return to his scoring with more frequency because his play away from the puck has been fine.
Michael Grabner added a much needed third goal as he used his speed to get behind the Carolina defense. Grabner looked good in his return from injured reserves and he could be a sparkplug down the stretch. Isles Captain John Tavares sealed the game with an empty net goal as the final was 4-1.
The Islanders return to home ice tomorrow night at the Coliseum as the face the red hot Nashville Predators. You want to talk about test? Tomorrow night will be a huge test for this team and they better clean up their game and put forth an A effort. As always for more on all things hockey please follow me on twitter at @DanDanNoodles78.