The Islanders were smiling, no question, because whether they want to admit it or not, this was as close as they have looked to last year’s team all season.
That was because on Thursday night at the Coliseum, they created a track meet, just gunning it up and down the ice and eventually beating the Blackhawks, 3-2 in overtime.
With the team playing fast and goalie Evgeni Nabokov making 37 sterling saves, it was reminiscent of the Islanders squad that just last spring made the postseason for the first time since 2007 and took the top-seeded Penguins to six games in the first round.
“I’ve coached a few games, and this is one of the fastest,” said Jack Capuano, whose team had 34 shots. “That’s a highly skilled team, and I thought our guys worked extremely hard.”
This win was no small shakes, as the Blackhawks (28-7-8) are not only the defending Stanley Cup champions, but also came in tied for the best record in the NHL, having only one regulation loss in their past 11 games. But following the come-from-behind 5-3 win over the Bruins in Boston on New Year’s Eve, and a 5-4 win in Minnesota before that, the Islanders (14-21-7) now have their first three-game winning streak of the season.
“Every time we win,” Nabokov said, “we have to be able to follow up with another great performance.”
The Islanders got out to a 2-0 lead behind goals from Casey Cizikas and Thomas Vanek, but started to falter when Brent Seabrook scored a power-play goal late in the second and Ben Smith tied it just 1:50 into the third.
But they pushed back, Nabokov got them into overtime, and Okposo — he of the recent U.S. Olympic team snub — got the game winner.
“In the bad times we said we’re not going to talk about last year, so when things are going good, we’re not going to talk about last year,” defenseman Travis Hamonic said, referring to the team’s 4-10-1 November swoon. “But that’s as close to a full 60-minute game we’ve played in a long time.
“Maybe a little more run-and-gun than we would have liked, but to be able to go shot-for-shot with a team with that many stars up front, is pretty good and something to build on, for sure.”
Islanders forward Josh Bailey missed his third game in a row with an upper-body injury, sustained when he got tripped up with Devils defenseman Bryce Salvador and went barreling into the backboards during Saturday’s 2-1 New Jersey win. Bailey skated on Thursday morning, and said nothing is structurally wrong, just sore muscles. He likely will be ready for Saturday’s game against the Hurricanes at the Coliseum.
Coach Jack Capuano went with the same lineup he dressed for Tuesday’s come-from-behind 5-3 win over the Bruins in Boston, which included Evgeni Nabokov in nets.
The Islanders recalled defenseman Matt Donovan from AHL Bridgeport. Donovan was sent down on Thanksgiving after sticking with the team for the first 25 games.