The Islanders did Rocky one higher.
Whatever injuries get thrown on the Islanders, they suddenly look nearly invincible.
Life without Mat Barzal looks much the identical, it seems, as life without half the defense.
Unlike the fictional boxer — who Patrick Roy took some inspiration from Tuesday morning, analogizing his injury-plagued team to the character — the Islanders won.
They beat the Golden Knights 2-1 on Tuesday night at UBS Arena, playing shutdown defense to comb the season series against a Stanley Cup-contending Vegas squad.
There’s not likely a technique to explain why the white-hot Islanders are suddenly playing their best hockey of the season despite seemingly half their team watching from the press box.
The out-of-nowhere run looked as if it may be derailed with Barzal’s injury, and after a seven-game winning streak was snapped on Sunday in Florida, but it surely got right back on the right track Tuesday.
At a moment when your complete league is waiting for the Islanders to fade, and wondering why they usually are not talking about selling off parts, they’re sticking around within the playoff race.
As close as this season was to taking place the tubes a mere month ago, the Islanders have now won 11 of their past 14 games despite a lineup that seemingly gets more bare-bones every night.
The best way they won Tuesday was in classic Islanders fashion: Muck up the sport, slow it down, keep it low-event and make the most of the opportunities that come.
The shot count was 19-8 Vegas after the second period, but it surely was Bo Horvat’s goal off the push at 18:21 of the primary that accounted for the difference.
With Ilya Sorokin continuing to play lights-out within the crease and the Islanders doing an efficient job of keeping the Golden Knights to the surface, that they had barely enough to get this one over the road.
Vegas did make the most on nearly 30 straight minutes of pressure when Brandon Saad got to Nicolas Hague’s rebound on the 8:40 mark of the third, tying the sport at one.
Just 3:03 later, though, Brock Nelson put the Islanders back ahead, tipping in Alexander Romanov’s point shot after having broken his stick on a faceoff, going back to the bench for a latest one and coming back into the offensive zone, causing Vegas to lose track of him.
The Islanders sat back with this lead like they did so often in October and November to disastrous results, inviting pressure and hoping to simply hang on until the buzzer sounded.
This time, it worked.
Back at home after a three-game trip — and for the last time until after the 4 Nations break — the Islanders had little alternative but to attempt to turn this right into a grind game.
That’s something they’re greater than comfortable doing, and there was almost no activity in any respect in the primary period until Adam Pelech sprung Horvat off the push with under two minutes to go.
Horvat slid the puck through Ilya Samsonov’s leg on his backhand to place the Islanders out in front.
It wasn’t pretty, and it’s probably not all that sustainable if that is how they should win games without Barzal.
But you’ll be able to’t argue with the outcomes.
The Islanders did Rocky one higher.
Whatever injuries get thrown on the Islanders, they suddenly look nearly invincible.
Life without Mat Barzal looks much the identical, it seems, as life without half the defense.
Unlike the fictional boxer — who Patrick Roy took some inspiration from Tuesday morning, analogizing his injury-plagued team to the character — the Islanders won.
They beat the Golden Knights 2-1 on Tuesday night at UBS Arena, playing shutdown defense to comb the season series against a Stanley Cup-contending Vegas squad.
There’s not likely a technique to explain why the white-hot Islanders are suddenly playing their best hockey of the season despite seemingly half their team watching from the press box.
The out-of-nowhere run looked as if it may be derailed with Barzal’s injury, and after a seven-game winning streak was snapped on Sunday in Florida, but it surely got right back on the right track Tuesday.
At a moment when your complete league is waiting for the Islanders to fade, and wondering why they usually are not talking about selling off parts, they’re sticking around within the playoff race.
As close as this season was to taking place the tubes a mere month ago, the Islanders have now won 11 of their past 14 games despite a lineup that seemingly gets more bare-bones every night.
The best way they won Tuesday was in classic Islanders fashion: Muck up the sport, slow it down, keep it low-event and make the most of the opportunities that come.
The shot count was 19-8 Vegas after the second period, but it surely was Bo Horvat’s goal off the push at 18:21 of the primary that accounted for the difference.
With Ilya Sorokin continuing to play lights-out within the crease and the Islanders doing an efficient job of keeping the Golden Knights to the surface, that they had barely enough to get this one over the road.
Vegas did make the most on nearly 30 straight minutes of pressure when Brandon Saad got to Nicolas Hague’s rebound on the 8:40 mark of the third, tying the sport at one.
Just 3:03 later, though, Brock Nelson put the Islanders back ahead, tipping in Alexander Romanov’s point shot after having broken his stick on a faceoff, going back to the bench for a latest one and coming back into the offensive zone, causing Vegas to lose track of him.
The Islanders sat back with this lead like they did so often in October and November to disastrous results, inviting pressure and hoping to simply hang on until the buzzer sounded.
This time, it worked.
Back at home after a three-game trip — and for the last time until after the 4 Nations break — the Islanders had little alternative but to attempt to turn this right into a grind game.
That’s something they’re greater than comfortable doing, and there was almost no activity in any respect in the primary period until Adam Pelech sprung Horvat off the push with under two minutes to go.
Horvat slid the puck through Ilya Samsonov’s leg on his backhand to place the Islanders out in front.
It wasn’t pretty, and it’s probably not all that sustainable if that is how they should win games without Barzal.
But you’ll be able to’t argue with the outcomes.
