What’s that saying about true love, how you have to leave in order to find it?
Well the Islanders are still a long, long way from being in love with their new Brooklyn home, but after a week out West, it seems the heart has grown fonder.
In their first game back from their three-game trek, the Isles put together an impressive 5-2 win over the young and talented Coyotes on Monday night at Barclays Center.
“I think it was good for us to get away and find our game again,” said winger Kyle Okposo, who was a physical force on the right side of John Tavares’ top line while notching three assists, now 200 helpers total in his eight-year career.
“I think we were fighting it a little bit the past few weeks,” Okposo added, “and then we go on the road and play three good hockey games. Now we were able to come back and were able to carry that over into our play here.”
The Islanders (10-6-3) had taken two of three from the Sharks, Kings and Ducks, with coach Jack Capuano adding that their one loss, in Los Angeles, was “our best game and didn’t get any points.” They outscored their opponents 9-5, scoring four goals twice while continuing to be sound defensively.
The final game was Friday night in Anaheim, so they understandably weren’t generating a ton early on in this one. But they came to life in the opening 5:38 of the third with goals from Brock Nelson and John Tavares — both set up by Okposo — turning a 1-0 lead into a 3-0 lead, extended to 4-0 with a goal off Steve Bernier’s skate at 11:50, his first as an Islander.
It should have been enough to get Jaroslav Halak (31 saves) his third shutout of the year, but the play got sloppy and turned into a 4-2 game when Martin Hanzal and Mikkel Boedker scored for the Coyotes (9-8-1) in the final five minutes.
“Coming back from the West Coast, it wasn’t easy,” said Tavares, who added an empty-netter in the waning seconds to make it 5-2 and give him the team lead with nine goals on the season. “Most guys probably didn’t feel their best, but we battled through it. We were strong mentally.”
What the Isles really want to be is more comfortable in their new home, where they are now 6-3-1, a record cushioned by an early-season three-game winning streak, and pockmarked by recent losses to the Hurricanes (overtime), Sabres and Bruins — not exactly the upper echelon of the league.
“If you’re going to be a playoff team, you have to have a good home record,” coach Jack Capuano said. “Not too many teams are going to win that many games on the road.”
Really, the best way to feel comfortable is by winning, and Frans Nielsen did his best to ease the nerves of the 11,831 in attendance by gaining a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal 4:51 into the first, his eighth in the midst of a terrific start for the two-way Dane.
The ice was choppy again, but veteran defenseman Johnny Boychuk said, “Every team has to come in here and work with the ice, with all the bounces that the arena may cause. But we should work it in our favor.”
It’s all an assimilation, and one the Islanders hope is now going to go a bit smoother after a short time away.
“It’s a long flight back,” Capuano said. “Give credit to our guys — they stayed focused and determined for 60 minutes.”