Good Job Isles... Now Let's Backtrack

What made last night's win so good for the Islanders?

Consider beforehand that the night before, at home, they were outshot and outskated once again by the Montreal Canadiens, who have given them trouble in the past, in a 3-1 loss. Despite good effort by shining defenseman Freddy Meyer, who's been getting quite a lot of ice time and has made every minute of it with Brendan Witt and Radek Martinek out of the lineup, the Isles ended up being victimized on a couple of defensive mistakes, such as Bruno Gervais' breakout attempt that turned into a giveaway, ending in the Habs' first goal, one of two by Plekanec. Offensively on our side, only one shot was managed in the entire first period, and while Rick DiPietro tried his best, outwaiting Saku Koivu on perhaps his best save of the game in the first period shortly after Plekanec's first goal, ultimately we could not generate what was needed and test Cristobal Huet in a game that recorded an overall low number of shots (22-19 Montreal). Kovalev sealed it with an empty netter. DiPietro, who made 19 saves, had been 1-2-3 since his comeback from a knee injury, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been playing well- more often than not it was the play in front that led to losses.

The bad vibes stopped at the entrance to the Prudential Center, however, as a listless loss became a pointed win over the Devils, who are the best in the Atlantic and second-best in the Eastern Conference. In the Isles' last three games, their two wins have been against the top teams in the conference- the other being against the Ottawa Senators, who have rebounded spectacularly from their lackluster start to the season and more recent seven-game loss streak, but have been hit by injuries.