Friedman: Islanders Are Back On Track After A Brief Slide

By Daniel Friedman
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If their first four games demonstrated what the Islanders were capable of, their next three were a reminder that nothing comes easy.

Back-to-back losses against Pittsburgh and Toronto might have suggested that the Isles were crashing back down to earth, but they didn't panic. Captain John Tavares wasn't too concerned, either.

"It's a long season," he said. "After four games we weren't winning the Stanley Cup and after six games we're not winning it. We have a couple of big games this week, so we have to be ready and we have to bounce back."

On Thursday night in Boston Tavares and the Islanders did just that, bouncing back with a 3-2 victory over the Bruins.

"It's just one of those things that we had a discussion about," said Cal Clutterbuck. "We don't want to lose two in a row and we ended up losing two in a row. It was important for us to get back on the right track and dig in here, come out with a good effort."

Speaking of effort, nobody showed more than Chad Johnson on Thursday night as he turned aside wave after wave of Bruins scoring chances in the third period. It seemed as though the entire final frame was played in the Islanders' zone, but as Jack Capuano said afterwards, they "weathered the storm."

The win came at a cost, however, as Josh Bailey left the game with an injury. After the game, it was revealed that Bailey had broken his hand and would miss several weeks. He was off to a solid start with four points in seven games, but the Isles have the depth to get by while he recovers. Still, the timing here is unfortunate for both sides.

That the Islanders won in Boston is already a positive, but that they did it at a time when they absolutely needed to is even more telling. Better yet, they corrected their mistakes from the previous two contests by not letting up in the second period and not turning the puck over as much.

Not to be overlooked is the fact that they haven't allowed a power-play goal against in two consecutive games. Granted, Boston only had one such opportunity on Thursday night, but considering how dreadful the Isles have been on the penalty-kill, even the baby steps matter.

"It's a long season," said Clutterbuck. "Sometimes you win some that you shouldn't, and you lose some that you shouldn't, so those things balance themselves out."

Many challenges lie ahead for the Islanders, including a West Coast trip that could have a significant impact on what direction they go in the standings. It certainly did last season, and not in a good way, but they're more prepared this time around.

There's still lots of work to be done, but the Isles have put themselves in excellent pole position through seven games. Three of their five wins have come against the Rangers, Bruins and San Jose Sharks, and they're sitting atop the Metropolitan Division with 10 points.

Every team has bad games, and the loss to Toronto was definitely one the Isles will want to forget. But at this rate, it'll wind up being a small blip on the radar screen. That's what happens when you win.

On Tuesday night, Tavares described his team as being easy to play against. On Thursday night, the Islanders were anything but. Against the Penguins and Maple Leafs, the Isles were abysmal during the second period. On Thursday night, that didn't happen. The penalty-kill is starting to improve and the forecheck once again looks like it did over the first few games.

Those are all signs of a maturing hockey team -- fixing mistakes and always finding ways to improve. Those kinds of things simply were not happening last season.

Same old Islanders? Hardly.

NOTES:

• Tavares currently leads the NHL in points with 11. Kyle Okposo is also among the top 10 in that category with nine points, reinforcing the notion that last season was probably not a fluke.

• Nick Leddy's on fire, with five points in seven games. He's been excellent at both ends of the ice, too.

• The fourth line finally scored a goal on Thursday night. Clutterbuck found the back of the net to give the Islanders a 3-1 lead midway through the second period. That line needs to be more of a factor if the Isles are to contend this year.

• Anders Lee made his season debut, on a line with Brock Nelson and Ryan Strome. It might take some time, but that trio should start producing shortly.

• Johnson is given the Islanders something they haven't had in a while: a reliable backup goaltender. He's lived up to the hype thus far.

Follow Daniel Friedman on Twitter @DFriedmanOnNYI.

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