Jaroslav Halak has stopped 39 straight shots posting consecutive shutouts during the Isles’ four-game win streak.
AP Photo by Kathy Kmonicek/Getty Images

The Islanders continue to fly under the radar in the metropolitan area. After a strong start, they slumped. After falling to Winnipeg at home, consecutive defeats at Colorado and San Jose had fans and media wondering if it was time to push the panic button. As usual, coach Jack Capuano was the target.

Since that three-game losing streak, they have responded with four straight wins. It started with a hard fought overtime win over Anaheim. Captain John Tavares snapped out of it tallying twice including the game-winner on a four-on-three power play. His shot through a Kyle Okposo screen got past emergency Ducks starter Jason LaBarbera. A one-time Ranger, LaBarbera was an emergency recall with John Gibson suffering a groin injury in warm ups. Of course, many will say the Isles got lucky. But good teams take advantage. They did and built off it.

Able to follow it up with a shootout victory a night later over the defending champion Kings, they got strong goaltending from backup Chad Johnson (29 saves). Ocho Cinco turned away Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter while Okposo and Frans Nielsen beat Jonathan Quick. Those two wins allowed them to go 2-1-0 in California. No small feat. They then got a Nielsen goal with 2:31 left in regulation to blank the Coyotes. Jaroslav Halak stopped 19 shots to post a shutout. After a disastrous start, the Isles finished a tough road trip 3-2-0.

Ryan Strome gets congrats from the bench after scoring his first of the season.
AP Photo by Kathy Kmonicek/Getty Images

They returned to Nassau Coliseum Tuesday avenging a blowout loss by putting up a six-spot on the Avalanche in a 6-0 dismantling. The game featured six different Islander scorers. That included two from defensemen with Nick Leddy getting his fourth and Travis Hamonic notching his second. The other four came from depth forwards with youngsters Anders Lee and Ryan Strome each tallying while vets Nikolay Kulemin and Casey Cizikas hit the score sheet.

Most impressively, they outshot Colorado 46-20. That allowed Halak to post a second consecutive shutout. In the two, he only had to stop 39. On some occasions, goalies see that many in one night. So, what’s the difference? Hamonic alluded to it after the win.

”This was probably our most complete game this season,” the Isles top defenseman told the Associated Press. ”We want to be as strong at home as we’ve been on the road. Now we have to work on playing even better.”

”We’re creating good habits,” Capuano stated with his team on the right track. The Isles are second in the Metro Division with a 10-5-0 record, trailing first place Pittsburgh by one point. ”Our attention to detail was really good. I was impressed that we stayed with it all night.”

With more of an emphasis on defense, they’re playing smarter hockey. Tavares also pointed out that he felt by being more responsible in their end, that’s how they’re getting chances. That wasn’t the case earlier. Basically, they were winning by outscoring opponents in more of a run and gun that left both Halak and Johnson out to dry. Even though they got away with it, that riskier style came back to bite them. Of the Isles’ first six wins, five saw them allow three goals-or-more. In the last four wins, they’ve permitted three total. Big difference.

”This was a blueprint for how we have to play,” said Strome after scoring his first of the season to go with nine helpers in Year 2. ”We have a lot to be proud of tonight. Getting almost 50 shots is really impressive.”

Most notably, they’re getting contributions throughout the lineup. Tavares leads them with 16 points. However, sophomore Brock Nelson’s improvement has him one behind while Okposo has 14 proving last year’s breakout wasn’t a fluke. The additions of Johnny Boychuk and Leddy have boosted defense corps giving it more stability and offensive capability. Fully healthy, the unit is better balanced allowing Capuano to micro manage his top six.

Even more, they’ve survived injuries to top nine forwards Josh Bailey and Michael Grabner. Playing well enough, there’s no reason to rush either back. Just how capable will they be once Bailey and Grabner return? General Manager Garth Snow had a good summer. Key additions such as Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski have supplied Capuano with the kind of depth he hasn’t had. It’s resulted in a better attack.

The Islanders fly down to the Sunshine state where they’ll battle the Panthers Friday and Lightning Saturday. A pair of home and homes dominate afterwards with the Bolts returning to Long Island next Tuesday followed by a pivotal back-to-back against the Pens. Facing two of the league’s best in four of their next five, that should be a good litmus test. We’ll get a better idea of what they can be.