Friedman: Maturation Off The Charts As Islanders Now Know Who They Are

By Daniel Friedman
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In previous years, the New York Islanders found a seemingly infinite number of ways to lose hockey games.

This season, they're finally putting that creative genius to work and finding ways to win. Nothing seems to faze this team, whether it's injuries, bad puck luck, poor officiating, or anything else you care to name.

As John Tavares put it, there's more to this turnaround than just the added depth.

"We're just playing a full 60 minutes," he said. "I think you saw last year we'd play well, have a lead, and completely fall apart in the third or give up two-three goals, and you could see us just really get down on ourselves. This year, when something happens, whether it's good or bad, we just kinda stay with it, next line goes over the boards, tries to get our game going and build some momentum, and we feed off that."

Not that the added depth hasn't helped, of course.

"Certainly, when you have depth like that, everyone contributing makes a big difference," Tavares said. "When you get players like (Jaroslav Halak), Nick Leddy and (Johnny) Boychuk, (Nikolay Kulemin) and (Mikhail Grabovski), young guys like (Ryan Strome) and Brock (Nelson) stepping up, it just feeds through the team."

I asked him if that's something that just comes with experience.

"Yeah, I believe so. A lot of us have been through it before, which certainly helps, but there are a lot of guys who've just come in and filled big roles," Tavares said.

Coach Jack Capuano also expressed that his players are definitely tougher mentally this season.

"We talked about mental durability. That's the one thing we stressed going into camp and coming out of camp. And, again, I think that comes with accountability and leadership, and that's what we have in the room," Capuano said.

Not only are the Isles coming away with wins regardless of the circumstances, they're scoring despite the fact that their two best forwards haven't exactly been at the top of their games. Tavares (23 points) and Kyle Okposo (22 points) have produced, but there's clearly much to be desired when you consider how dominant they've been together over the past year and a half.

"I've had a lot of great opportunities and I'd love to capitalize on a more consistent basis," Tavares said. "I'm just trying to stay with it."

Okposo, who has not scored a goal in 13 games, agrees, telling WFAN's Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts earlier this week, "I don't think we've (he and Tavares) been at our best this year. As a team, we've had pretty good success, and once we get really, really going, it's gonna be fun."

Fortunately, the Islanders have been getting contributions throughout their lineup, with Strome (18 points) and Nelson (22 points) leading the way and essentially giving the team a second dynamic duo.

Capuano said it's the improvements the Isles have made on defense that have led to their offensive success.

"You'd like to see a few guys get the offense. But, again, I stress that defense-first mentality, and even though certain guys aren't getting the points, they're winning games and they're playing solid defensively, so hopefully that'll change for us," Capuano said. "Strome, Brock and Anders (Lee) are playing well offensively because they've been solid away from the puck."

One of Capuano's main criticisms of Strome early on was his defensive play, and though in my opinion he was being too harsh on the kid, Strome's improvements in that area of the game have been clearly noticeable.

Okposo had a lot of praise for Strome: "He's been great for us. I think he's quietly been one of our best and most consistent players. He's shown why he should be here and why he should stay, and that he can be an impact player."

As for Nelson, well, let's just say Okposo's a fan.

"He's one of the smartest players for his age that I've ever seen," Okposo said.

The Islanders found a way to beat Ottawa without Boychuk, Lubomir Visnovsky and Travis Hamonic, and they'll have to do it again Thursday night without those three. Griffin Reinhart was called up from Bridgeport and will get another shot to strut his stuff, even if it's only for a couple of games.

Additionally, the power play has struggled of late and the penalty kill has been atrocious. Things aren't perfect, and the Islanders understand that.

"It's been great, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us," Halak said. "We just need to keep playing the same way, take all the good things we did in November into December. Every night is a new challenge for our team, and I'm sure everybody is up to the task."

If there's one thing we've learned about this team, it's that it is never out, even when it is down. Last season? The season before? This would've been a nightmare scenario. But these Isles have shown they can roll with the punches.

More importantly, they're showing that they can punch back.

Follow Daniel Friedman on Twitter at @DFriedmanOnNYI

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