The New York Islanders have won their last three games, and forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau has had a say in those recent victories.
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The former Ottawa Senators had three points in as many games and had a goal and an assist in Thursday’s 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 30-year veteran will certainly be a key element in the struggle for the Islanders, who sits fifth in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 21-14-2. So far, he has performed well with 21 points, including eight goals, in 37 games.
“For a couple of games we’ve been playing the way we wanted. We slip into our respective roles and fight for 60 minutes, which we did again this time. And obviously [le gardien] Ilya Sorokin is there to make the big saves,” Pageau said in a post-game press conference.
“We look at the tables and know how tight it is. We need points and we want to move up, he said. When we’re at home in front of our incredible fans, we have to take advantage of that.
game of helplessness
If the islanders took their chances at home and won all three home games, they now need to shine away. They will face the Seattle Kraken in the first of four games in the West on Sunday. Since the start of the campaign, they’ve done well with a record .500+ on the road.
However, to succeed you need a massive attack with bite. The New York team will be hoping to do better in this facet of the game, as their power play ended a streak of 27 goalless chances on Thursday when Mathew Barzal scored.
“It was an execution issue, not a staff issue,” NHL.com captain Anders Lee said. The season is long and sometimes you have a shortage and we had one. Maybe it was longer than expected.
With one more man, the Islanders rank 26th in the National League with an 18.8% savings rate.