The Islanders did all the right things Saturday night and it showed with a 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche at Nassau Coliseum. They killed every penalty they faced, converted another powerplay goal, got a shorthanded goal, a couple even strength goals, played great team defense, and had excellent goaltending from Dwayne Roloson.
The Islanders look sharp early to start the season, and now hold a record of 2 wins, 1 loss, 1 overtime loss and 1 shootout loss, and now lead the Atlantic Division.
The Islanders are also tied for second in goals scored with the Penguins with 18 goals, trailing only the Chicago Blackhawks who have 20.
Saturday, October 16th is a day the Islanders can look back on if they need a boost of confidence. They beat an Avalanche team who beat the Devils the previous night in New Jersey, leads a tough Northwest Division, and is off to the teams hottest start in over 5 years. The Isles lead the division (even if it is still early) and are scoring a lot of goals. They can compete and win against tough teams.
"We have more than potential," said Coach Gordon following the win. "We have abilities."
The Isles as of last night have had 12 different players score a goal so far this season. Last night defenseman Milan Jurcina picked up two goals to get the Isles rolling. He scored shorthanded to get his first goal as an Islander as well as his first career shorthanded goal in the NHL. Last night was also the third multi-goal game of his career.
Grabner got his first goal as an Islander as well on a nifty pass on a two on one by P.A. Parenteau. Not only was the pass a beauty, but the shot was as well, as he snuck it just under Craig Anderson's glove.
Josh Bailey's hot hand continued last night netting yet another goal and another assist. He assisted on Jurcina's shorty by winning the faceoff, and scored a powerplay goal with one minute left in the second period on the powerplay by roofing it over a downed Anderson.
John Tavares got his first goal of the season as well. He scored an empty net goal to close out the game, giving the Isles a 5-2 win over the Avs.
James Wisniweski returned from his two game suspension for the now infamous gesture to Sean Avery last night. He was greeted to the chant of "James Wis-niew-ski!" on his first shift. He also led the Islanders in ice time with 23:12. Matt Moulson and Doug Weight were the only other Islanders who posted over 21 minutes of time.
The Islanders have had attendance issues to start the season. The season opener had a crowd of just over 13,000, Monday's Columbus Day matinee against the Rangers had a crowd of 11,000, and only 10,000 people saw the Isles beat the Avs last night on what the team called "Rollback Night." The Islanders were offering tickets for $19.72 for the game, but still the crowd was sparse. The Islanders raised ticket prices as well as parking prices, and it seems fans are not happy about it. In these troubled economic times, fans don't want to pay more for a team that has been consistently losing. But, if the Isles keep winning, the fans will come, and the Coliseum will be rocking again.
The Islanders currently lead the division. Fans, let's savor this moment for a while, and hope the team can keep it up.
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