Style points are nice in October, or even January. But the Islanders are long past that, with the Ides of March near and the Playoffs of April not far behind.
On Monday night, all that mattered was securing two points for themselves and denying any to the visiting Blue Jackets, and so it came to pass at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum.
Did their 2-0 victory erase the recent rough patch that dropped them out of first place and into an ill-timed funk? It did not.
The Blue Jackets were the better team much of the game, while the Islanders extended their power-play drought to an even 20.