The Islanders got a much needed two points last night defeating the Devils 3-2 in an overtime thriller. John Tavares won the game in OT with a tremendous individual effort and his three point night propelled the Islanders back atop the Metro Division standings. While the Islanders played poorly in Vancouver and Edmonton they are still 8-3-1 in their last 12 games. The recent surge of the Rangers and the Capitals have made this division tight but I think we have to all realize that it will be a dogfight the remainder of the season.
The Isles road trip continues tonight in Columbus as they square off with a healthy and surging Blue Jackets team. The Jackets did play last night as they turned in a stinker falling to the Maple Leafs 5-2 in Toronto.
Chad Johnson will get a start tonight and the Islanders desperately need him to find his game. They need the goalie who was sound and steady in his role as the backup in Boston last season. This is a big test for Johnson because if he is proves to be unreliable then the Islanders seriously need to upgrade the goalie position at or before the trade deadline. Mikhail Grabovski took a knock in last night’s win in Newark and he will sit tonight. Cal Clutterbuck will return to the lineup at take up his spot alongside Casey Cizikas and Matt Martin on the fourth line. Josh Bailey will move up to the first line and play alongside John Tavares and Kyle Okposo. The second and third lines will remain the same as Frans Nielsen will play with Anders Lee and Ryan Strome. Brock Nelson will play with Michael Grabner and Nikolay Kulemin. The defensive pairings will remain the same as Lubomir Visnovsky is still on the injured reserve list.
The Islanders will have their hands full tonight if recent history is any indication. The Isles are a putrid 1-7-1 in their last nine games at Nationwide Arena. It is unclear who will be in goal for the Jackets tonight but if it is Sergei Bobrovsky, the Isles will be challenged even more. Bobrovsky is 10-2-0 with a 1.83 GAA against the Isles all-time. Over the past few years the Blue Jackets and Carolina Hurricanes have been the nemesis for many Islander teams. The Isles exercised some demons sweeping the Hurricanes in a home and home series to start the season. It will be interesting to see how they play tonight in a place that has not suited them well. As always for more on all things hockey please follow me on twitter at @DanDanNoodles78.