Somebody's There

Remember in my last entry when I said that the Islanders needed to wake up? Well, so far over the last 8 games, the have seemed to climb out of bed. The Islanders have won 6 of their last 8, and recorded points in 7 of those games, with the exception being the dud they had against the Rangers. These are also wins against the top teams in the NHL.  Lets take a look at the teams they beat.

1. Anaheim Ducks: 42 points-Currently 9th in the West. Islanders beat them 3-2 behind 3 goals in 98 seconds. 
2. After a tough shootout loss against Phoenix, the Islanders took care of business again against the Tampa Bay Lightning, winning 2-1. John Tavares got the overtime winner and sent the crowd home happy. Currently, the Lightning are 2nd in the Eastern Conference. 
3. The only non-quality team on this list, and the only road game on this list. The Islanders took a short bus trip to New Jersey and crushed the last-place Devils by the score of 5-1. The Islanders only got 14 shots, and it was enough to catapult the Islanders out of, and send the Devils into the NHL's basement.
4. As a blizzard swept through the eastern coast of the United States, making it nearly impossible for fans to get to the game, the game went on, and the Isles kept rolling, beating the Montreal Canadiens 4-1. Dwayne Roloson made 34 saves, and James Wisniewski scored his last goal an Islander. Coincidentally, he is now a member of the Canadiens. Best of luck to you James, thanks for the help. The Canadiens now are in the last playoff spot in the Eastern conference.   
5. Though the Islanders got murdered at MSG on Monday, they made up for it in a big fashion on Wednesday. They beat the best team in the NHL, the Pittsburgh Penguins. It went down 2-1 in the shootout during Rick DiPietro's first game in some time. Almost as important as the win itself, the Islanders snapped Sidney Crosby's 25 game point streak. He did nothing. The people at 24/7 Pens Caps will have something to say about that, as do I.
6. To close off 2010, the Islanders went into Detroit, and left with another 2 points, beating the top team in the Western Conference. P.A. Parenteau got the overtime winner on the powerplay during a perfectly executed play and great pass by John Tavares. A sell out crowd in Detroit was left shocked by the lowly Islanders coming into town and playing a great game. Kudos to Dwayne Roloson, who at age 41, is one of the top goalies in the NHL in the past few weeks. 

2010 is over, good thing for the Islanders. Now let's hope that the momentum from the end of 2010 carries into 2011. They have a huge west coast road trip coming up to start the new decade. Time to gain some points in the standings. 

(photo credit: espn.com)

Happy New Year!

Lets Go Islanders!