Four in a row? Islanders fans rocking the house last night

Sure, the New York Yankees may have been pushed to finish the series out in New York by the Philadelphia Phillies last night, however, the New York Islanders won their fourth straight playing on home ice against the Edmonton Oilers.  This blogger got to witness John Tavares live in action for the first time last night, and he scored a beautiful goal.

Although the attendance wasn’t spectacular, it was better then what the Phoenix Coyotes had for their home tilt against the Los Angeles Kings.  But that is not the focus of this article.  Last night, watching the Islanders play live on home ice, I got to witness a team in action.  By that, I mean last night I saw something that the Islanders have not been able to ice in a few seasons, a skilled team playing dominant hockey at both ends of the ice.  That has been the focus of this Islanders club for the previous four games and guess what, all four games were victories by the Isles. The Islanders were able to outplay the Oilers on home ice last night, and at the end of sixty minutes, they came out on top with a 3-1 victory.

The night started when Ethan Moreau, captain of the Edmonton Oilers, scored a fluky type goal on Islanders goaltender Dwayne Roloson.  Once that goal was scored, the Islanders crowd began the “Let’s Go Islanders” chant, and it seemed to help ignite the club from that point forward.

John Tavares was able to tie the game up when what seemed to be a simple dump and chase play led to the goal.  Doug Weight entered the zone hard, and was able to get to the puck at the same time as Oilers defenseman Taylor Chorney. Denis Grebeshkov was behind the net as well with Weight and Chorney and looked like a deer in headlights, not knowing what to do about the giveaway on Chorney’s part.  Matt Moulson was able to find the free puck and fed Tavares in the slot for a one time shot that tied the game at 1.  The Islanders fans erupted, and you could feel the momentum immediately shift in favor of the Isles.

From there, Roloson and company simply shut down and shut out the Oilers.  The bright spot of last night’s victory was the amazing play of “sniper” (and I say that with a sarcastic snicker) Brendan Witt. Witt notched 2 goals, which I think was his first two-goal game of his career, and sealed the victory. Witt, who has not been pleased with his performance thus far, was actually seen smiling after his second goal, a wrist shot from the point, went in to eventually put the game out of reach.

The best part about last nights game, outside of the victory, was how many fans showed up to the game even with the New York Yankess of Major League Baseball playing a game that could of closed out the World Series for them.  The fans were there, the house was rocking and the Islanders posted another win, four in a row, to close out a great night with Islanders Nation.

I seriously am starting to believe, that if this Islanders team can acquire a top pairing d-man, they could be a big surprise in the East this year and potentially “steal” the 8th seed and make a very surprising playoff appearance.  Sure, it’s way too early to even think that but hey, it is not impossible.