ELMONT, N.Y. — Cal Clutterbuck warned not to look at the season as a whole. The Islanders have blown leads, they have given up goals in rapid succession and they have fumbled their way to needing points this late in the season to get into the playoffs.
But there is clearly still enough DNA left in this very experienced core to become the team the players here believed it could be. And even as the tide turned following a superb first period against the Rangers, as UBS Arena started to morph into Madison Square Garden West as the Coliseum had at times over the decades, the Islanders found their fortitude.
“You just look at what’s in front of you,” Clutterbuck said. He, not Patrick Roy or any of the other Islanders coaches, called his teammates over during a television timeout in the third period to remind them that the Rangers’ lopsided possession didn’t mean the Islanders were going to surrender. “I thought we were in a great position going to the third.”
Your eyes can tell you that it wasn’t exactly great and that the bulk of the third, when the Rangers out-attempted the Isles 37-8 and outshot them 13-4, was also less than perfect. But perfect is not what the Islanders are aiming for as they try to claw their way into the postseason. For the fifth straight game, they did not let the perfect become the enemy of the good. And, for the fifth straight game, the Islanders were good enough.
The 4-2 win over the Rangers didn’t clinch anything. It kept the wolves at bay for another couple nights, with the Isles holding a two-point edge on the Caps for third in the Metro and three points on the Penguins and Red Wings for the second wild-card spot. These 10 points earned over the last nine nights have been variously ugly, weird and anxiety-inducing, but through it all the Islanders are forging an identity.
At just the right time of the season, too.
“The commitment these guys are making, our guys are really committed to making the playoffs and we know there’s a lot of hockey left even if it’s only four games,” Roy said. “We need to play that way.”
“That way” includes blocking a season-high 34 shots just after blocking a then-season-high 33 in the 2-0 win over Nashville on Saturday. That way is beating out a pair of third-period icings to keep the clock moving. And that way is led by Semyon Varlamov, who backed up his 41-save shutout three nights earlier with a 34-save performance against the Rangers.
That way also includes walking the line between legal plays and penalties. Mika Zibanejad left the game midway through the third after a nasty collision with Adam Pelech; Zibanejad took the worst of it, no penalty was called and Peter Laviolette labeled the collision “vicious” and clearly intentional.
Roy cut off a question about it before the word “intentional” came out. “Accidental? Yes, it was,” Roy said. “I was more afraid Pelly might get hurt on that one, (Zibanejad) was the one that hit Pelly. I think (referee) Kelly (Sutherland) was in a really good position to see everything and he made it clear right away that it was accidental. But sometimes frustration makes you say things.”
Noah Dobson Vincent Trocheckinto the boards. (Dennis Schneidler / USA Today)
In the closing seconds, Noah Dobson hit Vincent Trocheck from behind into the end wall, helping to force a turnover that became Anders Lee’s empty-netter. Trocheck was tossed and Laviolette called that one vicious too. Maybe there isn’t extra satisfaction for the Islanders in not just getting two huge points but seeing their rivals, on the verge of clinching the best record in the league, head off the ice steaming mad. But maybe there’s a little.
“It seemed like after every whistle they were in (the officials’) ears,” Lee said. “It was getting old.”
There is still work to be done. Two more points against the Canadiens on Thursday would lessen the stress; the rematch with the Rangers at the Garden on Saturday afternoon still will loom large for the Islanders no matter what happens with the gaggle of teams chasing the Islanders before then.
But this is five straight gut-check wins, two by a goal and three by a goal-plus-an-empty-netter, all in situations that the Islanders have failed this season many times before.
“Maybe we hold a one-goal lead next game or maybe we give one up and the narrative starts all over again,” Clutterbuck said. “It’s not something we can pay attention to … The only satisfaction is getting two points we desperately needed.”
(Top photo: Dennis Schneidler / USA Today)
