Islanders Take Care of Business Against Red Wings

Red Wings 1: Islanders 5

What was all that noise I was spewing about Evgeni Nabokov being sub-par against the Red Wings?

After the showing tonight, I can happily eat my words. The veteran netminder made 23 saves to preserve the win for the Islanders over the Wings, 5-1, in an offensive explosion that would make Mike Bossy proud. Mark Streit, Matt Moulson and John Tavares each finished the night with three points. Moulson also reached the 20-goal mark, and his line finished with a goal and an assist apiece. Michael Grabner would also break his scoring drought with his 11th of the year. Justin Abdelkader kept the game from being a shutout in the third period.

Where can I start with this game? I'm just glad to see these boys rebound after a couple of God-awful losses. The top line brought its A-game as usual, carving up the Red Wings' D for some great goals. Tavares was struck in the face with a puck, but returned not even a shift later and soon after scored two of his three points (1 G, 1A). Moulson scored two goals- one on the power play in the first period, and the other in the second period, which is where the bulk of the Isles' scoring occurred. And not to be outdone, Kyle Okposo benefited from plays by both of his linemates to score his ninth of the season.

The second line of Matt Martin, Josh Bailey and Grabner also did some wonderful work. Martin in particular made an impact on offense, tallying an assist on Grabs's goal and finishing with two recorded shots and four hits. On the fourth line, Jay Pandolfo stood out, recording five blocked shots and three takeaways (and proving that he still has the chops as a defensive forward and penalty killer). His line was on the ice for the Abdelkader goal, but other than that, they were solid as well.

Of course, none of this would have mattered if Nabokov hadn't been on his game, and that he was. Some of his saves were downright acrobatic against the team he would have gone to, had the Islanders not claimed him off of re-entry waivers. Some people, myself included, questioned the decision to stick with him as starter after the Isles had called up red-hot Sound Tiger Kevin Poulin, but I doubt there are any questions tonight, as Nabokov earned the second star of the game for his efforts.

This is a huge win for the Isles against a team that is still tops in the league. Some people regarded this game as a "joke" via social media, seeing as New York is still dwelling in the bottom of the standings, but I've got news for them: Standings don't matter if a team doesn't bring its all. On any given night, a team with a bad record can beat one of the best. Clearly, the Red Wings are a great squad, but even head coach Mike Babcock admits that recently, the team has looked past the Islanders, and the Isles have capitalized on that. And they will continue to, even if they can't quite get past teams in the same boat or worse off than they are.

Until next time, against Philly (oh, that should be fun).

Let's go Islanders!