Three wins in a row and Kyle Okposo has goals in four straight games. Now that’s some good news on a Super Bowl Sunday morning.
The Isles downed the Panthers 3-1 last night. Comrie, Guerin and Okposo each tallied for the Isles. Yann Danis set the tone with 37 saves.
The Isles are playing well. Maybe well enough to lose out on Tavares. That said, it’s great to see Okposo progressing like this. He has 10 goals and 8 assists on the season, but half of those goals have come in the last four games. Eight have come in the last 15 games. It’s too short a sample to get crazy revved up about but Isles fans have to like what they see. Keep it up, Kyle.
Yann Danis led the Islanders to their first victory of 2009 last night with a 2-1 win over the formerly mighty Ducks. All right!
The Ducks outshot the Isles about 317 to 9 (actually it was 40-14 but you get my point) but Danis was a stonewall in the net. First period goals from young gun Kyle Okposo and 28-year-old rookie Kurtis McLean (his first career tally) provided the Isles with all of the offense they needed.
Speaking of McLean, the guy played a really nice game last night. He was constantly around the net and hustling to make plays. In short, he looked like a guy who had to wait until he was 28 to get his first crack in the NHL. That’s a good thing. When your team is dead last in the league, you have to find hunger where you can and there’s no doubt McLean is a hungry player. Great job, Kurtis.
The victory also marked Danis’s first NHL win since the 2005-06 season when he played for the Habs.
“The last two years were tough for me in the minors,” Danis told Newsday. “To be back here, getting a shot and finally getting a win means a lot to me.”
The story of the 2008-09 Islanders’ goaltending woes just got a new chapter. Wade Dubielewicz, the spunky former backup keeper with the Isles, was supposed to make his triumphant return from Russia and take the keys to the Isles’ net until Rick DiPietro was healthy enough to return. Doesn’t look like that’s happening.
Several news agencies are reporting Dubie instead will be going to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who claimed his rights off of waivers earlier today. That leaves the Isles with Yann Danis, Peter Mannino and, don’t forget, Goalie Coach Mike Dunham (who made himself available in a pinch the other night) and about a million question marks.
To review, DP has played five games this season, Joey MacDonald stepped up and did a decent job for 37 games before getting hurt earlier this week, and now Dubie has slipped through the team’s hands. Don’t get us wrong. We love Dubie but we certainly didn’t expect him to turn this horrific season around. It just, you know, would have been nice to have something work out. Maybe the draft? Too soon to hope?
