Crucial end to a road trip; Islanders need the two points

In what can be considered the first “must win” game of the season, the Islanders will be in Toronto to face the Leafs tonight as the road trip comes to an end.

Coming off back to back losses, the New York Islanders will attempt to leave the weekend’s games behind them as they skate at the ACC against Vesa Toskala and the Leafs.

We will reiterate Scott Gordon’s mentioning of wanting to go .500  or better on the road trip. In order for that, the Islanders face a must win.

With a heartbreaking loss in Minnesota and a game the Islanders, as a whole, would like to forget in St. Louis over the weekend, the final day of travel prior to returning back to the New York area is tonight.

An addition the Islanders have been patiently waiting to get back is Brendan Witt.  He makes his return to the line up this evening and it could not have come at a better time.

In playing the Leafs, they are a team that has been looking a bit better as of late, no matter what the teams record states. A big shootout victory against the Capitals on Saturday showed that the team is attempting to turn the season around.  Vesa Toskala, the center of attention in the negative light this year for Toronto, played very well in getting the win. If the Leafs get that kind of goaltending this evening, the Islanders better be prepared.

The return of Witt should have the defensive pairings back to normal for the Isles and brings a big veteran presence back to the team. Something that has seriously been missing, especially with Doug Weight sidelined.

The Islanders need to be more effective in the offensive zone.  Generating much needed traffic in front of the net and simply applying more shots on net are an obvious statement, but it is something that this Islanders club must set as a factor heading into tonights game.

Tonight’s line up (subject to change):

As I stated in “Off The Rush” with Dee Karl, it’s a must win. Carrying momentum off a road victory to come back to home ice is nothing short of “huge” for this Islanders team.