SAN JOSE, Calif. — If the Islanders were in first place all year, like they have been this past week, they would be battling the Rangers for first place in the Metropolitan Division instead of fighting for a playoff spot. right.
But given the urgency of the situation, it’s best not to think about what will happen to a team that has scored its first two empty-net goals of the season in the past seven days and is currently on a four-game winning streak. They took the lead and shut out three consecutive games in the final period.
“I think it’s just a matter of sticking to our game plan,” Noah Dobson said Tuesday after the Islanders cruised to a 4-2 win over St. Louis with a 3-2 lead until the final 19:05. he said. “We didn’t try to change the way we played. We just played a solid game.”
For most of the year, the Islanders did the exact opposite, staying in a defensive shell and hoping to win games by one point.
This proved to be a losing strategy as they repeatedly trailed, conceded 5-6 goals and dropped like a rock down the standings.
When Patrick Roy took over as coach in mid-January, that was one of the first things he wanted to fix.
Now, like the rest of Roy’s vision, it’s becoming a reality.
Despite being in a defensive position Tuesday, the Islanders looked anxious.
They continued to look for opportunities to attack, keeping the Blues on the outside without the puck, and when Blues netminder Joel Hofer was taken out, Mathew Barzal quickly scored into an empty net.
The Islanders now have a four-game winning streak heading into Thursday’s game against the Sharks, tying their longest streak this year.
“I was surprised to hear that it was my first time. [empty-net] Goal scored against Detroit [last Thursday]” said Roy. “But if you do a good job, play well and herd correctly, good things will happen, and that’s exactly what happened in that game. Great job Mr. Bo. [Horvat] Basically, drive it to Virgie in the corner and go for the empty netter all by yourself. ”
“I think we’ll have more confidence going into it,” Dobson said. “There were some points earlier in the year where we were struggling a little bit, but I think the results give us confidence. I think everyone knows their job. Everyone agrees and goes out with confidence. Masu.”
As a result, the Islanders look like a whole new team.
And their playoff chances take on a whole new dimension.
