The New York Islanders continued their season of surprises and mood swings by pulling off a solid and frankly surprising 2-1 regulation win at home over the Winnipeg Jets.
It’s not so surprising that they won — that happens in the NHL’s 55/45 nightly coin flips. But they did it with key injuries up front and without having to hold on for dear life for 60 minutes. They gutted it out with a lineup that included Simon Holmstrom, Ross Johnston and Arnaud Durandeau in his second NHL game. (He also got his first NHL penalty.)
Having Bo Horvat and Brock Nelson consume valuable minutes definitely helped, as did the endless hustle of Zach Parise and the ever-cobra instincts of Adam Pelech.