New York Islanders: Huge win in Vegas comes at the perfect time

The New York Islanders came up huge in Sin City on Thursday night to beat the Golden Knights 2-1 and ride into the All-Star break on a high note.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out what given night (no pun intended) the New York Islanders will show up to play.

Many thought for sure this was a game they would lose.

The Isles cap off a three-game road stand in what is likely the least predictable way.

Long Island’s favorite team scored a possible five of six points during the stand but the timing of the win is impressive.

Not only are the Vegas Knights a great team, they are seemingly unstoppable at home.

Well, the Isles, oddly enough, handed the Golden Knights their first regulation home loss since November. They also did it at the end of a road stand.

The Isles rode into this one after playing what is probably their worst game of the year in Arizona after falling to the Coyotes in OT on Jan. 22. It was a sloppy game and the Isles clearly did not bring it.

The win in Vegas is huge not only for the Isles playoff hopes but the fans.

The New York Islanders have begun free-falling down the Metro division race. Then they fell out of the East playoffs entirely. The win puts them at 55 points heading into the All-Star break that begins Friday.

It has been reported that for the next few years the Isles will be splitting regular season home games between the Barclays Center and the Nassau Coliseum.

The Belmont arena deal is awesome and a done deal but it’s still three or four years away.

The Isles, to prepare for the move, will have games at both their current and old home.

It makes sense to kind of ease the old fans back to the now renovated Nassau Coliseum. They also shouldn’t lose the fan base they built in Brooklyn.

However, instead of playing in one arena not equipped for hockey, they will play in two.

Whether that is good or bad news for Isles fan depends on the person.

However, Isles fans are once again growing tired of Garth Snow and the bottom lines and poor defense of his roster.

A John Tavares deal is still not done and the Isles long-time GM is under fire for the Isles roster and staff not keeping it together for a long stretch of games again.

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The win in Vegas on Thursday night happens at the perfect time.

The team shows their three-game road point streak is not a fluke. They beat the best team in the West twice this year now, including in Vegas.

It is the biggest win of the year for the Isles. Every Islander fan can take a deep breath now.

They are right back in the playoff race.

The All-star break is a good standard to evaluate where teams are at in terms of contention for Lord Stanley.

Next: John Tavares and Josh Bailey Named to All-Star Team

Believe me, the New York Islanders have a long way to go and huge gaps to fix. Somehow, though, grinding out this win helps show there is still a sliver of hope.

Winning in Sin City is huge. Winning at the time they did is even bigger.

Good job, Isles.

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