The Islanders needed this, but more than anything, they needed it in this way.
They needed to hold the lead in the third period, which they hadn't done in five of their past seven games, but Patrick Roy called the power play “terrible” for just over 24 hours before special The team needed to perform. Before that in Washington.
They needed to overcome the twin blocks that had held them back the entire season, and they needed to accomplish that yesterday.
No one is circling the wagons after the Islanders finally vaulted over that most elementary of brackets with a 3-0 win over the Sabers on Saturday.
Before anyone falls into the same trap, they should remember that they did the same thing just a week ago against the Blues.
Seasonal tours don't happen overnight.
The Islanders are currently 9-10-6, still one game below NHL-0.500, still out of the playoffs, and have lost seven more games than they have won.
Still, at least they won't spend Sunday thinking about losing yet another lead. And you can't accumulate victories without earning them.
Special teams is a minor topic, but the important part here is the third period. The Islanders, fresh off a 4-2 win over the Capitals on Friday, entered the third period with a 2-0 lead.
This was a result of a club that was able to play well in the first 40 minutes despite an 11/7 line-up without Jean-Gabriel Pageau (lower body) and, for example, Pierre Inval. It was a mental hurdle. Healthy scar shape.
The islanders weren't doing anything particularly special, but tonight was not that kind of night. They were behind in shots and high-danger chances, but who cares? Will they be able to maintain the lead?
Things started to change after Bo Horvat took a customary third-period penalty for the Islanders, and not only did he take the penalty, but he never seemed to be trailing while doing so.
Still, when the puck came off Brock Nelson's stick with a solid chance to extend the lead to three points with less than 10 minutes left, you couldn't help but feel like this could go the wrong way.
But that atmosphere was broken thanks to a clean final three minutes of play at 5-on-6, a rarity between last year and its change. It ended with Simon Holmstrom's empty-net goal, guaranteeing Ilya Sorokin's first shutout. season.
With that in mind, when Anders Lee deflected Kyle Palmieri's feed into the crease in the seventh minute, it was the power play that finally woke up the offense, which has been a momentum-killing device for the past few weeks. You can't miss it. 2nd 23.
Two minutes later, Lee fed Simon Holmstrom on a 2-on-1 rush to make it 2-0.
And the Islanders made a penalty kill moments later, holding Buffalo without a shot for two minutes after Noah Dobson hit the puck on the glass.
In assessing the current balance of power, no one overlooks how understaffed the islanders are.
In fact, it becomes even more important to play on special teams when the players you normally rely on at 5-on-5 — Pageau, Matt Barzal, Adam Pelech and Anthony Duclair — are available.
If this is a one-game anomaly with special units, they'll be back to the same mess sooner or later.
But at least the Islanders have a win to speak of.
