DETROIT — The Islanders felt like they were gaining momentum last week with an overtime win against Pittsburgh to start the road trip.
They promptly lost the next game against St. Louis, dropping a four-point game at home to the Lightning, halting their momentum before it could become anything worthwhile.
They started their road trip this week with an overtime win, and again on Monday night, this time in Dallas, it felt like momentum was building.
“I thought we had a great road game today,” Bo Horvat said after scoring the game-winning goal against the Stars. “I think they obviously got it on us a little bit there, but we weathered the storm well and were able to add two points. At the end of the day, we got the job done, so all that matters is That’s all.”
And now, nothing matters more than the Isles adding two more points against the Red Wings, who are in the hunt for a wild-card spot when they play Detroit on Thursday at Little Caesars Arena.
All season long, the Islanders have struggled to put together wins. Since December, they have only won three in a row twice, and only once in a row.
Now, in order to close the gap with the chasing teams, they have no choice but to increase their winning points. They have five points as of Tuesday morning, and the No. 3 Flyers are scheduled to play Tampa Bay that night.
“Big win. Dallas is a very tough team,” Brock Nelson said Monday. “So coming here and being able to run this on the road is a couple of big points, and I think we did a good job of sticking to that.”For now, the focus is on a single game. I’m guessing and trying to combine as many 2 out of 3 as possible. Our mindset is just to score as many points as possible. ”
Coach Patrick Roy has put the second unit on the ice first on the power play the last few times, but he said Monday it had something to do with the top line going out just before the power play started.
“You can’t start with them because they were on the ice for more than 40 seconds,” he said. “If they go on for another minute or a minute and a half, they’ll be on the ice for three minutes. … This is a team game, I believe in the team concept. And I like that. is [second] Power play brings. It looks different. This is a shot from the internet. Very comfortable. ”
