Before last night’s 2-1 Coliseum victory over the Ducks, the last time the Islanders won a game, it was 2008 and George W. Bush was president.
But because of a surprisingly strong effort by Yann Danis, who also caught some lucky breaks, the Isles broke an eight-game losing streak.
After being oddly critical of Danis, who is inexperienced and playing only because Joey MacDonald is out with a strained groin, coach Scott Gordon had a chat with the goalie about taking advantage of his opportunity and competing harder.
The talk seemed to have an effect, as Danis responded by stopping all but one of Anaheim’s 40 shots and earning his first win since he played with Montreal in 2005-06.
He got lucky as Anaheim hit three posts and had a flurry of activity in front in the final minutes.
“It was getting frustrating,” Danis said of the losses in his first five games this season. “I wanted to break the ice, and I hope to get more wins when we get back from the All-Star break.”
It was a good day all around for Danis, who figures to spend considerable time in nets after the Isles opted not to sign Edmonton’s Dany Sabourin, who was placed on waivers.
“I talked to him and told him he needed to expect more from himself. Obviously, he responded pretty well,” Gordon said.
The Isles, despite snapping their losing streak, didn’t play stellar hockey. They got a power-play goal from Kyle Okposo 2:38 into the game and then went up 2-0 when Kurtis McLean scored his first NHL goal, in his second game. That tally resulted in the pulling of Anaheim’s Jean-Sebastien Giguere.
The Ducks’ Bobby Ryan made it 2-1 with a power-play goal in the second.
“We didn’t play well, but somehow we got the win,” said Frans Nielsen, who assisted on both goals. “We found a way.”
Islanders 2 Ducks 1