Islanders Defeat Capitals 5-1 Overwhelming victories such as the 7-0 drubbing the Pittsburgh Penguins applied to the New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/players/ryan-pulock-new-york-islanders-ltir-ir-cap-space] are not uncommon either in today's game nor in the days when goalkeepers played barefaced. What matters is how the losing team responds in the next game and the one after that. In 1947, the Montreal Canadiens opened the Stanley Cup Final with a 6-0 rout of the Toronto Maple Leafs. (P.S.The Leafs went on to win The Stanley Cup in six games.) Coach Lane Lambert's brigade enjoyed a royal rebound on Friday night; but that wasn't against Pittsburgh. Sidney Crosby's corps is eagerly awaiting tonight's encounter at PPG Paints Arena (Doncha just love that name? My grandpa's putty firm was called Lorimer Paint Works. But he didn't have an arena.) And if Friday night's post-game conversation is any barometer of Islanders enthusiasm for this rematch, it should be a playoff-type atmosphere. ISLES SMILES: * Julien Gauthier has the wheels and the cannon. He put them together against Washington with a career-high two and two night. * It's quite possible that he's finally found his puck password. Confidence. * Instead of being fifth on the club's pre-season right wing list -- as Julien was -- he could wind up second where slumping Oliver Wahlstrom was in October. * Over the years, New Year's Eve Games have been good to the Islanders. * Since 2002, our guys have been 12-1-1 the night before the new year. * One of the Identity Line's prime roles is hard forechecking. Guess what the figures tell us? * Cal Clutterbuck has a league-leading 3,846 hits and buddy Matt Martin is runner-up with 3,737. * Or, to put it another way, that's what hockey foot soldiering is all about. * Lane Lambert's crew moves on to Denver for a meeting with the Avalanche on January 2. * Then it's Arizona on the fourth followed by a clash with the Cup champion Knights on Jan. 4th. * The Islanders 17-9-9 record can be broken down in telling ways. * For example the stickhandlers are 12-6-6 vs. East foes (6-3-4 vs. Met and 5-3-3 vs. Atlantic.) * At the expense of being redundant, The Maven likes to point out that Noah Dobson continues to lead all teammates in terms of playing minutes -- 25:16 average. * Mat Barzal tops the forwards at 19:45. * Bo Horvat has to be a contender for team MVP. When teams play 5 vs. 5, Bo is a plus-18. As for this up and coming "Revenge Game," we'll find out how "sweet" it is at about 10 pm., give or take a Lou Lamoriello smile!
