This is technically the end of the road trip for the Wings, after the West coast swing.

Jimmy Howard is getting his 9th straight start, and has me wondering if Osgood will ever see the net ever again. And I mean that only semi-facetiously. He’s almost guaranteed to start in Dallas on Saturday, since I would seriously have to question Babcock’s psychological mindframe if he played Howard back to back, the second game being an afternoon showdown against Chicago. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Howard had a strong game in San Jose, and we’ll see if he keeps it up.

The whole damn team finally got it together and played a pretty inspired game, pouncing on the gift-wrapped turnovers offered by the Sharks. The Islanders are a young team, with Tavares, Okposo, Bailey, etc. JT has hit a slump recently in terms of scoring, but that doesn’t make him any less of an offensive threat.

Dwayne Roloson has carried this team, playing a huge part in the recent success of the Isles (and the Big Red Machine fantasy hockey team). The Islanders are 10th in the Eastern, and only 2 point back of Montreal, who has the 8th seed. Giving the strength, or lack thereof, in the Eastern Conference, it would not be too surprising to see them leapfrog into a playoff spot soon.

This should be interesting.

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