By DAN MARTIN
The Islanders didn’t win much in 2008 — and hardly at all in December — but they managed to close out the year with a victory today.
“At least we can have a happy new year,” Marc Streit said after the Isles beat the Panthers, 4-2 at the Nassau Coliseum for just their second win of the month. “Hopefully, it’s something to build on.”
They haven’t had much of that lately.
Playing without Rick DiPietro for the third straight game because of a strained groin, Joey MacDonald earned his first win in over a month and Mike Comrie picked up a pair of goals — his first multi-goal game of the year.
On a team that has struggled mightily with injuries — Mike Sillinger was placed on IR with a hip injury today — Comrie’s reemergence has provided some good news. He has played much better since returning after coming back too soon from offseason hip surgery.
“He’s not even close to the same player he was in training camp and the early part of the year,” Scott Gordon said. “His decisions with the puck are better, his skating is better and he’s playing with a lot of confidence.”
A far cry from where he was during the first games of the year, when he was clearly struggling. Now that he’s playing better, he won’t make the Isles contenders or anything, but he can help them be competitive — and perhaps become a more valuable asset for a trade later in the year.
“Playing on one leg isn’t the easiest thing as a professional athlete,” said Comrie, who now has six goals on the year. “Once I got healthy, I had to get my timing back.”
That seems to have happened now that he is playing on a line with Kyle Okposo and Blake Comeau.
“Playing with those guys, the chemistry came quick,” Comrie said. “It’s fun again. That doesn’t always happen.”
Especially this season on Long Island. Not when a team goes through a 10-game losing streak and sees its already slim playoff hopes go up in smoke; has defensemen who seem to get knocked out of every game and has a franchise goalie who can’t seem to stay on the ice.
This afternoon, they got some good breaks. Comrie had a puck go off his skate to tie the game at 1-1 and then put them up for good with a power play goal that bounced off Florida goalie Tomas Vokoun, who was later pulled.
Gordon was just happy to see some production from Comrie.
“That was my understanding of the type of player he was,” Gordon said. “In his defense, he wasn’t ready.”
They’ll need him — and likely MacDonald, who had 27 saves — to be solid as they head out on a four-game road trip.
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Gordon said again today that DiPietro’s groin strain is nothing out of the ordinary.
“Ricky is actually in shape,” Gordon said of the goalie, who will make the upcoming West Coast trip. “It’s not like the knee is an issue. He skated this morning and right now he wants to get back in and playing we want him back in playing. It’s not an issue of his knee not being fully recovered.”
Trent Hunter, who slammed into a metal post against the Rangers, didn’t play, but will also travel and try to skate today. Trevor Smith made his NHL debut, while Mitch Fritz was waived.