Butch Goring …@91Butch 11h #isles huge win tonight, can this team finally get its act together on home ice .Mind boggling how u can win on the road and lose at home
Can they? Have the Isles finally figured it out? Or are we once again getting our hopes up only to be disappointed? Then again, maybe it’s just the magic of Jiggs McDonald or the New Year’s Eve streak. “The Islanders improved to 7-0-1 in their past seven games played on Dec. 31. They haven't lost on New Year's Eve since 1998.… That reminder from NHL.com, but MSG had a nice little montage of NYE wins that included video clips of Jason Blake and Dave Scatchard. Oh… the good old days.
But two come-from-behind wins eases the pain of the Islanders current record. Clawing their way out of the bottom of the Metropolitan division. “We’ll take the two points and get out of here.“ Jack Capuano told Peter Ruttgaizer last night after the 5-3 win in Boston.
Of course in my house, the resident Bruins fan said it was because Tuuka played poorly. The Bruins coach claimed the Isles got some good bounces, but the Bruins woes were self inflicted due to penalties. Also from Matt Kalman on NHL.com
"When we took the 3-1 lead, I just felt that we kind of relaxed and they came back hard and they kind of got the momentum back and we couldn't regain it," Julien said. "You make your own breaks and they made their breaks by getting some good bounces and got themselves back in the game. But in the third period, they were the better team again.…
Wait… does that say ‘in the third period, they were the better team’? BUTCHIE! Maybe they ARE getting their stuff together.
This is a team that has had more third period breakdowns than they want to acknowledge, and in Minnesota and in Boston, they managed to ‘figure it out.’ Whether it’s Kyle Okposo making his case for the Olympics or Colin McDonald (as many hits as Matt Martin) making his case to be in the line-up, some things have gone ‘right’ for a change. John Tavares had a four point night with two goals and two assists in 21:31 of ice time making him the first star of the game. He now has 16 goals and 28 assist points.
One thing that still needs to change is Michael Grabner’s ability to finish. I’m just saying. And it wouldn’t hurt if Visnovsky was finally healthy.
If the Islanders can continue to play the balance of the season with the same sense of urgency and yet with enough discipline to stay out of the box, just maybe they can claw their way up out of the hole they have dug and see daylight. At 33 points, only Buffalo and Edmonton have less. But as Butch says, they have to start winning at home, and that has to start on Thursday when they face Chicago.
