The New York Islanders routed Kyle Okposo and the Buffalo Sabres at the Barclays Center by a score of 5-1.
A Memorable Homecoming
The New York Islanders came flying out of the gate at the Barclays Center on Friday night and their effort paid dividends.
The forecheck was clearly in full effect and 13 different Islanders found their way to the score sheet Friday night in Brooklyn.
Kyle Okposo‘s first night at the Barclays Center was definitely one of the season highlights for the Islanders.
Shooting Gallery
B-E-A-U-tiful! @titobeauvi21's tip in the first period has the #Isles up 1-0! pic.twitter.com/z8PatY1ge2
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) December 24, 2016
Anthony Beauvillier scored his fourth of the year after it was mishandled by former Islanders goaltender Anders Nilsson and trickled behind him.
Nilsson’s inconsistency when handling the puck would help the Islanders on the scoresheet throughout the night.
Shoot. Drive the net. Bury rebound. Fist pump. @strome18 puts the #Isles up 2-0! pic.twitter.com/L4WPFHMHeU
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) December 24, 2016
Ryan Strome‘s goal came as a result of Nilsson not controlling the puck and letting the rebound slip past for Strome to bank it in.
Scoring change on the #Isles third goal. Now credited to @91Tavares pic.twitter.com/l3sKbOwPs6
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) December 24, 2016
The specialty team’s for New York would help them out tonight with John Tavares cashing in on a power play with three Islanders crashing the net.
Andrew Ladd fired a shot perfectly placed over Nilsson’s glove for a fourth Islander goal and a very important morale boost for Ladd.
Even defenseman Calvin de Haan was in on the scoring his second goal of the year.
The Islanders would, unfortunately, concede a goal to Zemgus Girgensons with 1:03 left on the clock to spoil an otherwise stellar evening for Thomas Greiss.
Building Momentum
The Islanders want to build momentum going forward from here, and there are some good notes to take out of the past two games.
For instance, the Islanders have scored two power play goals in the past two games. The Islanders also carried a 3-0 lead heading into the third period for the second straight game.
If the Islanders want a prayer of digging out of the cellar, it will start with these moral victories.
