There are many must-wins coming up for the Islanders if they want to stay relevant in the wild-card waste.
EAST MEADOW, NY -- The New York Islanders' 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks was massive. Yes, it was against one of the worst teams in the NHL, but it was a must-win after dropping the first two games of their seven-game homestand.
The Islanders were in sync, something that's been a takeaway in all their wins this season and an area of concern in all of their losses.
Islanders captain Anders Lee thought it best to practice on Sunday because of how the team was feeling on Saturday night, ahead of their Monday night game against the top wild-card Columbus Blue Jackets
"It's good to keep the feel for sure," Lee told The Hockey News. "At this point of the year, you're trying to find the right combination of rest and feel. And today felt like a "feel" day.
"It would have been great to have a rest day, but it's good that we came in and kept the momentum going, just the energy of the result."
The Blue Jackets are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and have proven that they know what it takes to win consistently for the first time in a long time.
While it's important for them to continue their strong play, it's also massive for the Islanders to snag a win for many reasons.
1. Closing The Gap: Depending on what happens in Columbus' game against the New Jersey Devils, the Islanders could wake up eight points back of a wild-card spot on Monday. It's "put up or shut up" time for the Islanders if they want to stay in the race.
“It was an important night, and for us, it was a huge game. I think at this point in the year, it doesn’t matter who we are playing against. Every single night here is important, especially when we are on home ice. We know we need to build a little something here on home ice. We need to be better here, and tonight was a good step.” -- Ryan Pulock
2. Islanders Need Elite Sorokin Back: Ilya Sorokin is still recovering from his illness, and the Islanders need him to be the player he's being paid to be. Patrick Roy made it clear that despite Marcus Hogberg's strong play, he hasn't impacted their decision-making regarding who to start game to game.
"He had a really good game against Vegas to shut up, and unfortunately, got sick, and sometimes it takes a little more time. So I'm confident that Ilya is gonna have a strong game tomorrow." -- Patrick Roy
3. Bottom Six Resurgence: The Islanders are at their best when they can run all four lines, and against strong teams, that's a need, not a want. They need everyone getting behind the opposing defense and hard on the forecheck to help with their OZP. They were able to do that against the Sharks, and that has to be a point of emphasis against Columbus.
"When you see the top line doing it, or you're doing it, and they see you doing it, then I think it just becomes contagious. And you see how well it works, like not turning pucks over at the blue and just outworking them over time. Even last night, you could tell that they couldn't do anything after we forechecked. I think that's, that's a key part of our game." -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau
4. A Big Test For Surging Penalty Kill: The Islanders' league-worst penalty kill has stopped the last 10 power plays they have faced, a perfect score over their last six games. Columbus has the 12th-best power play in the NHL, at 23.1 percent.
"I really feel we're connected. Everybody's on the same page. We are working together. When one guy goes for the pressure, we're all there in the zone. We keep them on the outside, and when we give them the inside, our goalies make the save. So, I mean, that makes a big difference."
5. Home Ice Advantage: After their win over the Sharks, the Islanders are now 8-11-2 on home ice this season. After Columbus, the Islanders still have another three games on home ice to turn the conversation around. But it starts with Columbus and taking advantage of the second chance. Roy doesn't pay too much attention to the matchup game, especially when he has all four lines rolling. In front of the home crowd, each line needs to bring that energy, like we saw Saturday.
Final Thoughts: The Islanders last faced the Blue Jackets on Oct. 30, when they were shut out 2-0. That was the game in which Mathew Barzal suffered his long-term upper-body injury. The gap between the Islanders and Columbus is eight points right now.
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