David vs. Goliath. Luke vs. Vader. Napoleon vs. the Russians. No matter how you look at it, this was the uphill battle the Islanders faced in taking on the Atlantic Division leader: the New Jersey Devils.
How did the Islanders respond? They spit in the beasts face, gaining the lead not even ten minutes into the first period on a Sean Bergenheim goal, and never looking back.
The full sixty-minute effort the Islanders put forth was one of the best they had this year, with goals from Jon Sim, rookie Kyle Okposo, and captain Bill Guerin. As Coach Scott Gordon put it, "they put in a great effort...New Jersey's a good team to have this kind of game against".
The great effort came one day after the Islanders traded away struggling center Mike Comrie and young defenseman Chris Campoli to Ottowa for veteran journeyman Dean McHammond and a first round draft pick. While the players no doubt will miss their teammates, they understand that its the nature of the beast. "It's part of the business," noted Mark Streit, "there's really nothing you can do about it." Bergenheim echoed Streit's sentiments, "we lost two good guys (via trade, but maybe guys can get more ice time now."
All in all, a great game put forth to take down the divisions best team. The Islanders play next at Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Feb. 5th, at 7 p.m.
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