The last time we saw the New York Islanders they were getting absolutely demolished by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday evening, losing by seven goals in what was probably one of the worst showings of the season.
For the first half of Thursday’s game in Dallas things did not seem to be going much better for them as they faced a three-goal deficit midway through the second period.
They quickly erased that.
Thanks to four consecutive goals -- from Andrew Ladd, Nick Leddy, Dennis Seidenberg, and Nikolai Kulemin -- the Islanders were able to rally for a 5-4 win, pick up two huge points in the standings, and continue what has been to this point a mostly successful road trip.
The Islanders are currently in the middle of a monster nine-game trip, and are off to a 3-1 start through the first four games. The only blemish so far has been that clunker in Columbus on Sunday.
Ryan Strome was the big star for the Islanders on Thursday with a goal and two assists, while rookie Josh Ho-Sang made his NHL debut and made a promising first impression. He did not factor into the scoring, but he did play 17 minutes and record two shots on goal while earning his praise from coach Doug Weight.
“I wouldn’t say he was average,” Weight said, via Newsday‘s Arthur Staple. “He was above average. Couple plays you can nitpick, but I thought he was excellent.”
The Islanders remain in the thick of the mess that is the Eastern Conference Wild Card race, with the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers all gaining points in the standings on Thursday.
The Stars’ playoff hopes already seem to be faded at this point, but losing this one only seems to shut the door a little more.
They also lost forward Antoine Roussel to a hand injury that coach Lindy Ruff said could sideline him for the remainder of the regular season.