Looking Forward In The Rear View Mirror

As the New York Islanders continue their climb up Mount Wild Card, non-slip crampons may be mandatory equipment with Tampa Bay and Carolina the away games immediately ahead.

The lesson to be learned from the one point (Columbus) out of four (0 obtained from Buffalo) last week is as obvious as the Cross Island Parkway.

There are no patsies in this National Hockey League. Nor are there sure things as the high-flying Devils learned from Professor Lane Lambert earlier this week.

New Jersey could have been forgiven for thinking that their super duper scoring machine's flak would dissect the Isles defense and render Ilya Sorokin the second coming of an oversized pin cushion. But Newark's proud sextet received a free lesson as to why Sorokin is a legitimate Vezina Trophy candidate.,

I take nothing away from New Jersey's fine team. In fact had the Devils' Thomas Tatar not turned his leg a certain illegal way, the Isles would have had a 2-2 third period on their hands instead of a 2-1 lead that eventually would be nurtured to a 5-2 finish.

But over a 60-minute span Sorokin reinforced claims from his Vezina lobbyists, while his defense laid out a blockade that could have shut down the North Sea.

Adam Pelech was the most effective of the D-men while it also was reassuring to note that Sam Bolduc could once again be imported as a pinch defender as he again was on Wednesday night in Washington.

All hands agreed that the Monday meeting and beating of New Jersey could have been the start of something big, depending on events on Wednesday night in the District of Columbia. (We liked those events.)

Typically it was a nail-biter and, fortunately the "new" Islanders -- forwards Pierre Engvall and Bo Horvat -- provided smiles and solace.

Like a leadoff batter in a ball game getting the first hit, Engvall scored the first goal -- never a bad thing for the lighter scoring Islanders -- and Horvat and Kyle Palmieri did the necessary shootout scoring for their team's first S.O. win (2-1) in six tries. (Some would say that the almost obsolete Law of Averages finally was invoked.)

While Isles scoreboard-watchers continue to put the whammy on pursuing Pittsburgh and the Panthers in Sunrise, Lambert's troops would much rather take care of business themselves. And so they did in the last pair of contests.

In any given game, if there's an obvious edge for the Nassaumen, it's in goal with Sorokin assigned the prime challenge while Semyon Varlamov remains a competent 1A.

But as good as the perfectionist pair may be, strategic scoring help remains one of the priorities.. Lambert did some temporary line-tinkering on Wednesday, but all things being equal the forward lines seem set. That, by the way, is another way of saying that Simon Holmstrum will be at right wing and not Josh Bailey.

While line-switching is subject to change without notice, Bailey likely will continue to be the odd man out unless Holmstrom's play forces a deletion. It's no secret that we may have reached the turning point in Bailey's long Islander career.

With Tampa Bay, then Carolina, up next, the stage is set for -- we fervently hope -- a gallant gallop to The Finish Line.

And isn't it the truth that -- yes siree, Bob -- that's why they play the game!