The Islanders bounced back last night with a 3-2 win in Buffalo over the Sabres. While I’m sure that there was panic throughout the fanbase when the Isles built a 3-0 lead only to watch the Sabres pop in two quick goals to cut the lead to one. While this was far from a perfect game, the Isles allowed only ten shots on goal and did a great job in their own end. The Isles did take a couple of bad penalties however the fact that they were able to collect two points with Colin McDonald and Harry Zolnierczyk in the lineup proves the amount of organizational depth that this team now has. The fact that they can call up reliable forwards in a support role allows them to handle all of these minor injuries popping up.
While many continue to dissect everything that this coaching staff does, and some of it is merited, this is a results oriented business and the Islanders continue to bounce back after facing some adversity. We all know the power play and penalty kill have to be fixed and as soon as possible. However this team at even strength is better than many teams in this league. If we look at the Islanders over the course of the season there are not many times this year that this team has been outplayed at even strength.
Moving forward there is plenty to still work on. As I said earlier the special teams have to improve. The power play and the first line in general needs to shoot the puck more as their play tends to get too cute and too east west for my liking. The penalty kill has to improve and now. They have to win face offs, they have to win the battles on the boards and they must clear the puck when they have the chance.
This team also needs to get healthy and the play of Lubomir Visnovsky has been alarmingly poor, although he did show signs of life last night. Brock Nelson is also in a terrible funk and something needs to be done to get his game back on track. Despite all of the issues with minor injuries and some players in slumps this team remains in in first place. The schedule does lighten up a bit and these upcoming games are ones that the Isles simply need to win. The Islanders return to the ice tomorrow night as the host the Edmonton Oilers at the Coliseum. As always for more on all things hockey please follow me on twitter at @DanDanNoodles78.