NASHVILLE – Dave Scatchard was never a role player before. Last season with the Islanders, he was one of the team’s leading scorers, a fixture on the power play and penalty kill, and one of the few stars the team had.
That all changed the day the Isles traded for centers Alexei Yashin and Michael Peca, who bumped Scatchard down to the third line from the moment the two franchise players were signed on.
“I wasn’t sure what was expected of me,” Scatchard said. “Maybe coaches had one view of me and I had a different view, and finally we met somewhere in the middle. I’m happy with my role now, and when I get a chance to play more and do more, I thrive on it and can’t wait to get out there.
“We found a happy medium and I’m having one of the best times I’ve had playing hockey. Even though the numbers haven’t been as high as I would like them to be, I feel that as a group we have a real good chance to do something special in here.
“If you asked me at the start of the year – actually I think I was asked at the start of the year – whether if I scored 20 again and we didn’t make the playoffs, or I scored 10 and we did, I’d pick 10 and that’s exactly what happened,” Scatchard said. “Maybe I gave myself a little jinx or something, but it’s true. I’m very happy with where I’m at.”
Making the playoffs didn’t come as a huge surprise for the Islanders, who, to a man, said they knew they would be there all along.
“Honestly, for me, there were three different things that happened,” Scatchard said. “The first thing was when [owner] Charles Wang told us he would try to get us some players to help us out … when we got Peca and Yashin, my heart jumped out of my chest and I couldn’t wait to get started.”
Scatchard was so pumped for the season, he started skating with teammates on Long Island before training camp, but wound up breaking his foot, forcing him to sit out most of the exhibition season.
“The second thing was when we got Chris Osgood off waivers, I thought the stars were just aligning for us,” Scatchard said. “I knew how good of a goalie he was, and he was even better than I thought. The third thing was all the big goals we’ve been able to score.
“All of these goals just came at the right time and were able to push us up, whereas in the past we’d fall below where we’d want to be,” Scatchard said. “We’re on the other side now and it just feels so awesome.”
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Yashin (groin) was not expected to play last night.