ANAHEIM, Calif. — For the first time in nearly two months, the Islanders will wake up Monday morning in a playoff spot.
After losing at home to the Lightning two weeks ago, the Islanders’ only obvious path to the postseason was to continue their winning streak as soon as possible. They took that literally and won every game since then, including Sunday’s 6-1 win over the Ducks, where the Islanders never trailed and reached a six-game winning streak.
They’ll be looking to complete the sweep over Golden State against the Kings on Monday night, but it’s hard to bet against them at this point.
“It’s good to get the win, but I don’t think it was our best effort tonight,” Cal Clutterbuck said, adding that the Islanders have experienced the same level of self-defense that the Islanders have experienced since Patrick Roy took over as head coach. He emphasized the changes in evaluation. “I think we showed up in the third period and definitely got it done. We were opportunistic the first time. I don’t think we were as good the second time. When we had a chance to put it away, we did it. did.”
An inconsistent team for much of the season whose basic statistics looked worse than their less impressive performance, the Islanders suddenly transformed into a juggernaut. After the previous loss, the Islanders were in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division behind the Capitals and Devils. The closest playoff team to them was the Flyers, who had a seven-point lead, and the Red Wings had an eight-point lead for second place in the wild-card spot.
After Sunday’s game, the Islanders were tied with the Red Wings in points and tied for first place in the standings thanks to two fewer games played. The Flyers and Lightning are both just two points behind, with two games remaining each.
What they did against Anaheim and how they evaluated themselves afterward speaks to the turnaround they’ve seen.
The Islanders weren’t in the offensive zone like they were in other games during their winning streak, and in fact, they didn’t record a shot on goal until the first 13:38 of the second period, when they got the decisive puck. did. Fight, go through it with precision and finish with skill.
Semyon Varlamov, starting for the first time in six games, made 22 saves behind a team balanced with growing confidence and the belief that they have more to offer as they earned their first win since Dec. 13.
At 5:11 into the game, Simon Holmstrom stole the puck from Gustav Lindstrom in the corner and fed Casey Cizikas, who beat Lukas Dostal for the first goal moments later. Just over two minutes later, Mike Riley deftly threaded a stretch pass into the neutral zone and Kyle Palmieri backhanded the puck to Anaheim’s netminder.
Then, with 14:28 left in the period, Matt Barzal acquired the puck along the boards on a power play, followed by a one-two pass between Brock Nelson and Bo Horvat, and Nelson’s one-timer in the slot. did. 3-0.
The Islanders were never in any danger of giving up the lead from there, but they used a little too much food in the second period, which delayed the game.
Alex Killorn scored off a rush just 24 seconds into the second period to cut the lead to 3-1, but the Isles spent too much content in the middle frame to stay quiet and faced even strength. He recorded only four shots.
“Varley made some good saves and we kept the game at two points,” Roy said. “It was very gratifying. Seeing them talking to you [media] The guys told me we needed to be a little better in the second period and I’m proud of them.
“That’s exactly what I expect from my players. We strive to get better every day. That’s a very good example.”
Any remaining concerns ended in the third set, with goals from Horvat, Pierre Engvall and Clutterbuck turning the game around and giving the Isles the performance they lacked in the second set.
And with or without style points, a win is a win, and a six-game winning streak is a six-game winning streak.
The islanders may not be satisfied yet. But it’s hard not to be happy about it.
“It’s a long road,” Palmieri said. “Realistically, I think it’s better to be in it.” [playoff] Focus on the spotlight rather than chasing one person. ”
