The Islanders thus won three of four games.
Back to NHL-.500.
Get back to feeling good about how things are going.
And maybe, despite all the injuries, he's still finding himself.
They defeated the Senators 4-2 on Thursday night at the Canadian Tire Center. Even though the Islanders are still missing their entire left side, a winning formula that relies first and foremost on solid defense and good goaltending is coming into focus. their blue line.
Grant Hutton and Dennis Cholowski have played well in the regular minutes, but it was Isaiah George who showed something here — skating as a top pair with Noah Dobson in his second NHL game. -It's a convocation.
Acquired with the 98th overall pick in 2022 in the draft floor deal that sent Alexander Romanov to the Isles, George has played with poise despite his age and has become a stabilizing force on the backfield.
No one should get carried away after two games, but this is a difficult situation that could happen to anyone, and George handled himself with incredible composure.
It has also affected other parts of the club, which were reeling just last week.
The Islanders played patiently in this game, dominating in puck possession in the first, but relying heavily on Semyon Varlamov in the second, the game remained scoreless through the first 35 minutes.
You could label these Islanders “boring,” and you'd be right about that, but when they're as talented as Thursday, they won't care one bit.
What ultimately broke through was a revamped first line of Anders Lee, Bo Horvat and Jean-Gabriel Pageau — who, by the way, now feature Anthony Duclair, Bo Horvat and Matt Barzal. has scored more goals than he has scored in one fewer game.
Lee got his year off to a great start as captain, scoring his second goal at 15:49 when he scored the puck off a backhand feed from Horvat from behind the net.
Less than three minutes later, Horvat had another assist, allowing Pageau to sneak behind the Ottawa defense and score past Anton Forsberg for the former Senators' homecoming goal.
Less than three minutes into the 3-point period, Oliver Wahlstrom backhanded home a rebound from Matt Martin, contributing to the fourth-string's first goal of the season. This coincidentally was the first goal scored since Nov. 24, 2023, in Ottawa.
The goal came on a night when the Islanders outplayed two defensemen in their win over the Senators, and as they look to be finding their footing without three blueliners. It's even more fitting that the goal was born.
Still, this comes with some stress.
Nick Jensen spoiled the shutout with a right circle snipe 7:43 into the 3-point period, and Drake Batherson made it 3-2 with a power-play goal in front seven minutes later.
But with the Islanders under pressure at 5-on-6 in the final moments, Horvat sealed the game with an empty-net goal.
These last four games are just a microcosm, an even smaller sample than the first 10 games that had everyone wondering if the Islanders were heading into the draft lottery.
But even though there's still a long way to go before the lineup is complete, things feel very different for this team than they did just seven days ago.
That doesn't mean everything is resolved, and it doesn't mean the next five-game series to Canada West will be easy, starting after Saturday's home game against the Devils.
But the Islanders are fighting back with some swagger, and it's not for nothing.
