SALT LAKE CITY — Finally a come-from-behind victory.
It's finally a winning streak.
Finally, there is real hope that Islanders can address this issue.
The standings still paint a questionable picture, but after the team swept three games on the road and defeated Utah Hockey Club 2-1 on Saturday night's game-winning goal from Delta Center at Delta Center. , the atmosphere around the Islanders did a 180. We will enter regulation with 1:25 left.
The Islanders lost their resiliency at almost every opportunity to end the first half of the season, but they really hit it hard here.
After Saturday's game, the Isles are just five points out of the final wild-card spot and still have a lot of work to do to truly turn their season around.
But for the first time, I had a real reason to believe.
“We know what kind of times we are in,” Barzal said after a great performance that culminated with him slamming home the game-winner after a scramble at the crease with the puck leaking out. “It's really a moment of truth. It's like making or breaking a team. It seems like we're on the upswing.”
It's only been three games, but that's more than the Islanders have been coming together all season.
And while Saturday began with the revelation that Ilya Sorokin was out with an illness and Alexander Romanov out with an upper-body injury, returning home with a full point bill feels like a bigger statement than that.
“When you look at the schedule, it makes a lot of sense in a way.” [with] “We knew the final games in Boston, Las Vegas and Utah were going to be tough,” coach Patrick Roy said. “And I’m very proud of our guys.”
Marcus Hogberg replaced Sorokin in his second start of the season and stopped 21 shots. It was solid enough for the Islanders to leave with two points.
The difference between the Dec. 28 game in Pittsburgh and now was the defense in front of the Swede. The Swedes have been playing more structured, error-free hockey all season.
Still, the Islanders were on the back foot with 20 minutes left in the game, and with 1:13 remaining, Nick Schmalz tipped in Michael Kesselring's point shot to take the lead.
The top line of Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, and Barzal dominated all night, but they finally broke through, with Lee feeding Nelson to tie the game at 1 in the 3rd inning. It was canceled at minute 36 seconds.
After the Islanders decisively stopped Lee's penalty with goaltender interference at 13:32 of the third, the top line struck again with 1:25 left in regulation, and Barzal hit the winning goal.
“He had a great assist on the first one, he scored on that one, and he was at the net,” Roy said. “He cut in front of the net, so those are the things we need him to do and he's a leader on this team. He came in tonight.”
The presence of his parents, Mike and Nadia, was a relief of sorts for Barzal, who has struggled to be himself since returning from an upper-body injury last month.
“I was really frustrated after the first and second time,” Barzal said. “Certainly, I thought our line deserved to have two. We missed 2-on-1 twice. [and] Please influence me a little. We reset going into the third and played a great third. ”
It was a relief for the Islanders, too. It was the second time all season that they came from behind to win in the third period.
And on a night when a loss would have dropped them to seven points out of a wild-card spot, it felt essential for more than just atmosphere.
However, the vibe certainly doesn't hurt.
“That's what we want,” Jean-Gabriel Pageau said. “And we want to continue to develop this even further. [it]. We played a lot of good hockey, but we didn't get the results we wanted. I feel like we are now turning around and starting to go our own way. ”
The Islanders haven't been able to add up wins in recent months, taking two steps back for every step forward. Maybe, just maybe, they have forgotten that version of themselves.
The Islanders haven't solved all their problems. First, they went 0-for-3 on the power play, giving them a chance to go 5-on-4 without scoring for 24 straight games going back more than a month.
But they certainly think they've found some appeal in the rubber chicken mascot, where a consistent identity clicks into place and may just be a talisman.
When the Islanders return home from Utah, they will have a seven-game homestand during the season.
Suddenly, the Islanders appear to be in a favorable position.
