Matt Moulson

There is a saying, most often associated with old time hockey, that says, "how can you beat em on the ice if you can't beat em in the alley?" Well, the New York Islanders certainly must have felt that way tonight as they skated to a 5-3 regulation victory over the hometown Toronto Maple Leafs.

To the New York Islanders,

This is a letter addressed to the New York Islanders. This is the team with a hibernating fan base that has been starving for any sustained success in recent years. Success is a distant memory on Long Island and despite some stretches of promising teams, they have gone 30 years without a championship.

In that time span, the team has went from the envy of the league to the polar opposite. For a franchise that was once so successful, seeing the losing seasons piling up was disheartening.

For the younger generation of fans who were born after the Dynasty years, we have known nothing but despair and heartache. Aside from a Shawn Bates penalty shot and a Wade Dubielewicz poke check, the memory bank of positive memories are thin.

In a truly critical contest, the New York Islanders defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 on Tuesday night, putting the Flyers 7 points away from the Islanders, who now sit in in the 7th spot in the Eastern Conference. The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak at Nassau Coliseum.

After the Flyers committed an icing, took a timeout, and failed to get the puck deep when play continued, the Islanders rushed the puck up the other way. Colin McDonald found Michael Grabner streaking down the wing after a pick by Keith Aucoin. Grabner snapped it past starter Steve Mason to give the Islanders the 2-1 lead.

The Islanders will take on the Flyers tonight at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum at 7:00 PM EDT. For those fans that won’t be in attendance at the old barn on Hempstead Turnpike, MSG+ will carry the television broadcast and WHRU 88.7 will have the radio call.

New York will look to take advantage of its recent run of good form in front of their hometown fans against a struggling Philadelphia squad.