Winning is fun, isn't it?
The Islanders won their first game at home since December 6 tonight as they defeated the Calgary Flames 3-1 in front of a decently packed Nassau Coliseum crowd tonight. Evgeni Nabokov recorded his 296th career win to go along with goals from Andrew MacDonald, John Tavares, and an empty-net tally from Brian Rolston.
Overall, tonight's game was a great team effort from pretty much everyone, as they took advantage of a somewhat lethargic Flames team. Tonight's standouts were Andrew MacDonald and Travis Hamonic, who both played practically flawless and finished +2 and +3, respectively on the night. Aside from a very early gaffe by Mike Mottau that led to a Tim Jackman goal, the team defense was solid tonight. Evgeni Nabokov played well behind them and recorded 29 saves for his third win of the season.
Up front, most forwards were very solid tonight. All 12 forwards recorded a shot tonight, and while some continue to struggle, such as Nino Niederreiter - players like John Tavares and Kyle Okposo shined with their new linemates. Tavares and Okposo rekindled their chemistry from Tavares' rookie year as Okposo assisted on a beautiful Tavares end-to-end rush. All things considered, Tavares has been one of the major bright spots as he teeters on becoming an elite forward this year despite the continuous losing situation around him.
With tonight's win, the Islanders improve to 12-17-6 on the season, but remain in last place in the Eastern Conference. They certainly have enough time to pull themselves out of that position, but will need more complete games like tonight's to make that push. From here on it, it's about identifying which players are "keepers" and which are "stopgaps." Given the limited funds the Islanders are using, it's imperative the right decisions are made and the right players are kept. It's just as important to leave enough budgetary room to fill in holes with players who can fit the needed roles. Anything less, which we have seen to date, is unacceptable.
But for tonight, we will enjoy this win.
-CH
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