Islanders hit 100 Points for the First time Since 1983-84 Season

(Via ESPN)

Not since the days of Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin and Bryan Trottier have the Islanders hit the century mark in points for a season.

This year’s club now sits at an even 100 with the last regular season game looming, also the last regular season home game for New York that will be played at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Perhaps it is fitting that this team hit the 100-point plateau the day before closing out the regular season. This is because today’s game with the Blue Jackets will be preceded by a ceremony set to honor many of those former Islander greats including a few from that 1984 team that nearly won the Stanley Cup for a fifth straight time.

Many of the things that had gone wrong for New York were fixed last night.  Jaro Halak who was shaky in net against Philadelphia, was brilliant last night stopping 37 of the 38 shots he faced.

The Islanders had been getting off to slow starts.  Last night however, they turned the tide, scoring short-handed when Cal Clutterbuck hit Casey Cizikas with a brilliant head-man pass that Cizikas fired past Marc-Andre Fleury.

New York held the lead until they gave up a late goal to Rob Scuderi who scored for the first time in almost 2 years when he found a loose rebound and put it home.

The Islanders responded when their captain pounced on a rebound in the early third, and netted his 37th goal of the season.

Instead of squandering a late lead, the Islanders iced the game with a goal by speedster Michael Grabner skated away from the defense to get enough room to fire one top-corner for the Islanders’ third tally of the day.

The win locks up at least 3rd place in the Metropolitan division and gives them a shot at hosting the first round if they can win today, and Washington loses in any fashion or if the Islanders win in regulation or overtime and Washington loses in a shootout or OT.  The second scenario puts Washington on 102 points with New York but would give NY an edge in the ROW category (regulation or OT wins) 41-40.

Washington plays the Rangers today.  The Rangers position atop the eastern conference is locked up.