Richard Park and Radek Martinek picked up the first two Islander goals last night. But the same kid was in on both of them.
The Islanders received an impressive performance from 21-year-old forward Jesse Joensuu, as the rookie — who was just recalled from Bridgeport yesterday — delivered his first two career assists in the Isles’ 3-1 win over the Lightning at the Coliseum.
“I thought he used his speed. I thought he was physical. Positionally, he was good all night,” head coach Scott Gordon said. “Obviously he’s a guy we’re excited about for the future.”
Might as well be. Joensuu, a 2006 second-round pick from Finland, has played in five games for the Islanders this season and has racked up a goal and the two assists. With Bridgeport, he had 19 goals and 17 assists, adding a plus-21 rating. The latter was best on the team.
“I felt comfortable,” Joensuu said. “Got lucky, a little bit lucky with the assists.”
With the victory, which came in front of 12,809 who inexplicably were watching this instead of the Final Four, the Isles snapped a three-game skid and hurt their chance of getting the No. 1-overall pick in the draft. They still have a league-low 61 points with just four games remaining, but fellow dregs Colorado (64 points, five games) and Tampa Bay (66, three) are in the losers’ bracket as well.
Said Gordon, “I’m paying a lot more attention to who’s going to be in our lineup on a daily basis.”
The Isles also got a goal from rookie first-rounder Josh Bailey, who has four in his last seven games, and a fine effort from goalie Yann Danis, who stopped 29 of 30 shots.
Islanders 3 Lightning 1