In their first five games under coach Patrick Roy, the Islanders have understandably looked like a team in transition. I got used to the new system pretty well, but there were some bumps along the way.
In Game 6, it looked like a team that had fully bought into what their new head coach preached.
And they got the results to show for it, defeating the Lightning 6-2 on Thursday with an offensive outburst at UBS Arena for their second straight win following the All-Star break, and as time ticked down in their third game, the crowd shouted Roy’s name. period.
On a night when everything went well for the Islanders, Casey Cizikas returned to the lineup and Bullock returned in the third period after spending part of the second period in the locker room following a hit by Emil Martinsen Lilleberg. – Even injury luck was in their favor with Nelson. .
Just as importantly, they played perhaps their best all-around game of the season.
The Islanders flocked to the pack. They played on the ice.
They lived in the offensive zone. They dominated shifts at a time.
They aggressively and effectively forechecked and made life hell for the Lightning as they attempted to pass through neutral territory.
This is a matchup against a team the Islanders are chasing in the playoff race, a team that has long been one of the league’s measuring sticks.
For comparison, the Islanders had only won seven games by two or more goals prior to this game. But Roy is not a coach who likes to take a conservative approach.
“My goal is to play a game that excites the fans and wins hockey games,” Roy said Thursday morning, repeating a sentiment he has expressed since taking the job. That’s exactly what the Islanders did in this production.
It took just 4:07 for the Islanders to enter the game when Noah Dobson’s cross feed off the ice bounced off a Tampa defender and into the goal.
Nikita Kucherov’s point shot at 6:42 of the first game was one of only three shots on goal the Islanders allowed in the first 20 minutes, but the shot ended up on the Islanders’ stick. It hit the ball and missed the goal, causing a temporary retreat. However, the Islanders quickly scored. Back to their game.
By the first intermission, it was 3-1 thanks to Matthew Barzal making a backhand following a faceoff in the offensive zone and Kyle Palmieri finishing Mike Riley’s feed into the crease.
This was the first period that set the tone, and unlike many other times this year, it stayed that way for the entire 60 minutes.
Brandon Hagel’s power-play goal 1:14 into the second appeared to reinvigorate Tampa.
However, the Islanders quickly regained momentum with back-to-back goals from Ryan Pulock, Bo Horvat and Cizikas, effectively ending the game by the second intermission.
It was Pulock’s first goal in more than two months since he returned to action against Toronto on Monday.
And for Cizikas, who had missed the past 10 games with a lower-body injury, his last goal came on Dec. 13, about the same amount of time.
It didn’t matter that Jonas Johansson had a terrible night at the Bolt’s net.
But as impressive as their offensive prowess was the Islanders allowed just 10 shots on goal in the first 40 minutes of the game.
Top to bottom, this may have been the most impressive performance in a season with few big wins.
This is the first time for these few players to play against a team higher in the standings.
The Islanders remain below the playoff cut line, two points behind the Flyers and Red Wings.
But if Roy can make something of this Islanders season, here’s what it would look like.
