After that atrocious loss to the Rangers on Monday, the Islanders have won 2 in a row. The second win happened to be against the team 5 points ahead of every other team in the league, the dominant Nashville Predators. I'm not going to lie, I was scared going into this game. The Isles were not playing their best hockey and the Predators were. I was worried about Pekka Rinne, who has been having a a career year and on track to win both the Vezina and Hart trophies. Halak is having a career year as well, but nothing like Rinne's.
The roles seemed reversed last night as the Isles threw 5 in net to beat the Predators 5-2. Halak had a few great saves, as did Rinne, but it wasn't enough to stop this rolling Isles offense. Everyone has seemed to really pick up the slack to fill the Okposo void. Nelson and Strome seem to be slowly coming back to form, and John Tavares has been DOMINANT. He's now broken into the top 5 in both overall points and goals and is steadily climbing the ranks. He's my favorite NY athlete and I really don't know why he isn't yours. He's poised to have an amazing career and I've been in the front row since 2009. MVP! MVP!
Nick Leddy had a great game last night with a beautiful goal after a great feed from Colin McDonald, and 2 assists. Leddy has probably been my favorite addition to this Islanders team. He's the fastest defenseman on the ice and is always involved in great scoring and defensive plays. He's everywhere. He's also turns 24 in a month, adding another young gun to this kid team.
Injury Report: Mikhail Grabovski took a huge hit from Bobby Nystrom's son and went down. He's of course suffered an upper-body injury, the vaguest injury classification out there. This is a a huge loss. Grabovski was one of the offensive veteran additions at the beginning of the year and has clearly contributed and mentored. With Casey Cizikas out till Tuesday, and Okposo still on the IR, it's gonna be tough beating the Capitols. I fucking hate them.
With all of the injuries Capuano is deciding to call up Kael Mouillerat for the first time. Excited to see what Mouillerat can do; he leads the Islander's AHL affiliate Bridegport Sound Tigers with 40 points.
An Islanders win and a Rangers loss made for a great Thursday. I have to say though that I've never been more excited for a playoff series. Shit is going to be wild.
Keep it rollin' Isles. YES! YES! YES!
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