The Islanders earned a huge win against the Maple Leafs.
The Islanders earned a huge win against the Maple Leafs.
The playoffs are the goal.
You know it; The Maven Knows it, and Patrick Roy knows it.
What the coach now has is fresh armament and a week of studying to reach the goal.
The 3-2 win over Toronto last night at Scotiabank Arena merely confirmed it. These are the New York Islanders.
* Pelech and Pulock: The Gold Dust Twins of defense are back. "They were rock solid," St. Patrick acknowledged after the win.
* Engvall Awakened: Unlucky Pierre turned Lucky Pierre for a change, scoring the winner with 2:02 left in the third period. "It felt really good," said Engvall, speaking for all of Islanders Nation.
* Sorokin Saves: Ilya made 35 stops, including a last-minute furious flurry.
"The guys were calm and under control," said Roy. "They're buying into what we're doing."
* Leadership: When a Leafs nobody named Simon Benoit tried messing with Mat Barzal, Bo Horvat stepped in. "Bo is a leader," said Roy. "You can be an eagle or a duck. He's an eagle!"
* The New Kid: Kyle MacLean burst out of the penalty box on a nifty breakaway. Clean as a Kucherov, The Kid pulled a sweet deke and scored. Roy: "He can play a lot of roles."
* Confidence: The Hockey News Yearbook picked Toronto to finish first in the Atlantic. The Isles swept the series 3-0-0. "It was," Roy concluded, "a great team effort."
Next Up: To confirm optimism, the two-in-a-row streak must happen Thursday at UBS, 8:00 pm.