Once again, it took overtime to do it, but the Islanders were able to get a much-needed two points over their fellow struggling team, the Carolina Hurricanes, at Nassau Coliseum tonight.
Why? Two words: John Tavares.
Reporters, bloggers and fans alike are starting to sound like broken records when talking about the 21-year-old center's success, simply because there's been so much of it lately. In so many games lately, and particularly this one, he has been the difference, and with his two goals tonight (his second the winner in OT), he has reached an NHL-best 12-game points streak.
Things were dicey for the Islanders throughout this game; they looked unfocused and lackadaisical, and that sloppiness burned them in their defensive zone, as Jeff Skinner was able to convert at 8:43 in the first off of a turnover. After that, the Isles' offense seemed to come alive, but it wouldn't be until the second period that it would finally break through Cam Ward.
In that second period, the Islanders threw 23 shots at Ward, and he would stop 22 of them. The one he let in was the result of the Hurricanes' own sloppiness in the defensive zone- Kyle Okposo and Mark Streit did excellent work to keep the puck in and get to the front of the net, and Tavares would take care of the rebound.
The game stretched to OT, and Ward would make his only big mistake of the game- one that cost his team an extra point. Mark Eaton passed the puck along to Travis Hamonic at the point, and Hamonic attempted a shot that went wide. PA Parenteau picked it up and drop passed to Tavares. Ward handled the initial shot, but had no idea where the puck was (right under him). As he tried to feel for it, Tavares caught sight of it and poked it home for the win, giving him 19 goals on the year and his team another mark in the 'W' column.
It's good to see the Isles doing so well, but they cannot stop at a three-game win streak. Nor can they rely only on Tavares to score; sooner or later, they have to figure teams will pick up on him and look to shut him down, as Carolina was soon attempting to late in this game. Don't get me wrong, JT's a slippery character and strong on the puck, but he can't be the only one. His linemates and the other three lines must, must, MUST find ways to score as well. The Bailey line had some good chances, but chances mean nothing without finish. Something has to break through, and here's hoping it will against Toronto on Monday and Tuesday, because the Maple Leafs mean business this season, and they won't be sitting down for anyone.
Oh, and if you're wondering about the hashtag in the title, well... Twitter comes up with some gems. I can't be sure exactly where this one came about, but I did first see my friends Joe (@KidsGotJoekes) and Katherine (@_katherine) using it, and I fell in love with it just because it was perfect to describe the way JT's been able to take over the team and the league. Apparently, "Tebow Time" had become popular among football fans, but... I'm not a huge fan of Tebow, anyway, and neither were these guys. Thus, #TavaresTime is now a trend among us three, at the very least. I hope it catches on; it really is quite awesome. :D
Until next time.
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