After defeating the San Jose Sharks for a fifth-straight victory, the Islanders now head into Anaheim, looking to continue their winning ways.
The New York Islanders "Drive For Five" is a done deal -- 7-2 over the Sharks last night in San Jose.
"It was a beautiful win for us," said coach Patrick Roy.
Now comes the "Quest For Six" consecutive wins in Anaheim on Sunday.
Roy did not want his team to take the lowly Big Fish With Sharp Teeth lightly, and for a time in the first period, Our Lads seemed to be in Jet Lag land.
Fortunately, they managed to get through the first period with no fatal bites, thanks to goals by Noah Dobson and Alex Romanov. Sebastian Aho added one a bit later for the D-corp.
"Our defense is part of our offense," Roy added. "It's a five-man unit."
With the score 3-2 Isles in the middle frame, the Anti-Shark pellets began working big-time when rookie Kyle MacLean notched the fourth goal for a 4-2 lead. Mathew Barzal -- from Brock Nelson and Bo Horvat -- and Aho closed the period for a comfortable 6-2 lead.
If nothing else, that 20-minute segment proved that the coach knew what he was doing when he inserted Nelson on the Horvat-Barzal unit.
With a key goal and two assists, Barzy is playing the best hockey of his life, and his give-and-go goal was something you see more often in Advanced Hockey 101 than actually view on the ice.
"Every win matters," Barzal noted. "This one and everyone down the line."
A tip of The Maven's fedora also to productive backliners Dobson, who notched his eighth red light of the season, and Romanov with his lucky seventh, each helping to oil what looked like a rusty first-period machine.
Just to prove that there will be no further third-period nonsense, captain Anders Lee scored at 8:18 of the closer, and -- happily—Pierre Engvall and Ryan Pulock got the helpers.
Without much fuss or fanfare the addition of the exuberant MacLean has jazzed up Matt Martin -- Matty assisted on Kyle's goal along with Adam Pelech. (Assistant coach Johnny MacLean's son looks like a sure-thing starter for next season.)
Make no mistake, it was vital for the Orange and Blue to launch the West Coast expedition with an emphatic win against a team that stunned them -- to put it mildly -- early in the season.
Likewise, the importance of every two-pointer at the juncture of the season cannot be exaggerated. This is especially true given that the Flyers, Capitals, and Devils all won last night.
Following the Anaheim match, the Islanders close out their trip to the Left Coast in Los Angeles and finish the excursion in Buffalo. They return to UBS Arena on March 16 with a return engagement with the Sabres.
Meanwhile, what Roy's Roadrunners are giving us is a fresh, entertaining brand of hockey with strong efforts up and down the line.
"We're getting more confidence," Romanov added. "Now our goal is six in a row."
Conclusion: Our guys did what they had to do, and now we shall see if they can keep the puck going. Based on what we've seen so far -- if a "Drive For Five" could be attained; then why not a "Quest For Six?"