Tavares Picks Up Where He Left Off

I didn't get a chance to write over the weekend as it was happening, but John Tavares did a fantastic job of representing the Islanders in Ottawa during the All-Star break. He had some neat moves in the shootouts on Saturday during the Skills Competition, and was one of the final shooters in the last breakaway portion of the event.

Leafs Get Help to Defeat Isles in OT

As if things weren't already tough heading into Tuesday night's game for the New York Islanders, their opponents would end up getting help - and a lot of it.

To say that the officiating was a disgrace is putting it kindly. For those of you who have frequented this space over the years, you know it's not something we usually harp on, even in other games where it's been bad. I know for myself, I'm a staunch believer that these things even out, and that missed penalties are one of the adversities that good teams overcome.

Opportunity Missed

Coming off of the 2-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night, the Islanders had a chance to do something special. Going on the road for the first part of a home-and-home series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Isles could have made up a ton of ground on the bottom half of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

So much for that momentum.

Tavares, Nabokov Star as Isles Win Third Straight

John Tavares and Evgeni Nabokov are both playing like men on missions right now, and they are single-handedly trying to bring the Islanders back into playoff contention.

So far, so good. The Islanders have picked up a number of points over the past two weeks behind strong play from both, and currently sit eight points out of the picture with 36 games remaining.

Finally! A Win in Philadelphia

On Thursday night, the Islanders went into a building that hasn't been kind to them. But a funny thing happened, one that the Flyers have not been used to the last few years. That's right - the Islanders won a game in Philadelphia.

It was their first win at the Wachovia Center since April of 2007. Many Isles fans will remember that as the second to last game of the 2006-07 season, and the third of four straight wins to close out the season and clinch the final playoff spot.

Islanders not Intimidated on Road by Captials

Have you ever seen two Jekyll and Hyde performances in a row as much as we've seen with the New York Islanders? On Tuesday night, the Islanders tweaked some areas and came out in a completely different manner than they did in the game on Monday afternoon.

Isles Can't Solve Pekka Rinne

When one lists the best goalies in the NHL, Pekka Rinne is often overlooked through the first run through. However, Islanders fans got a first hand look at why this guy is one of the top three goalies in the NHL right now.

Isles Dominate Red Wings

They may have taken a couple of steps back with their two road efforts in Anaheim and Phoenix, but the Islanders were able to take one step forward on Tuesday night against the Detroit Red Wings.

Isles Miss Out on Opportunity

Going into Anaheim with a good amount of momentum, the Islanders were trying to do something they haven't in almost a year - go on a four game winning streak. For a while, the Islanders played a solid game and even were able to grab a lead in the third period.

Isles Bend, Break but Escape with Win Over Canes

It's safe to say that the Islanders were hoping the start of 2012 would have gone much better than it did. But in a game that Scott Allen said had a few "peaks and valleys," the Islanders ended up getting the end result they wanted all along, even if it looked unlikely for a decent part of the game.

The Islanders were resilient, despite giving up a ton of shots, and were able to come back and win in a shootout.

Isles Finish 2011 on High Note

As we watched 2011 come to a close, we saw more of what had been good for the New York Islanders during the calendar year - strong play against opponents from the Western Conference.

On Saturday afternoon, the Islanders had one of their better games in the past couple of weeks. They provided offensive output for Evgeni Nabokov, and didn't let some weak defensive plays at the beginning of the game get to them.