Islanders Get Value From Thomas Hickey at Forward

New York Islanders made the unconventional look pretty good tonight as converted defenseman Thomas Hickey keeps the Isles in the hunt.

It was a funny move, with a short bench at forward, the New York Islanders placed Thomas Hickey up on the second line alongside Brock Nelson and Josh Bailey.

Everyone had a chuckle. This was a defenseman that wasn’t known for scoring a ton of goals. In his 336 NHL games, Hickey has 85 points. And the Islanders were still chasing a playoff spot.

I wondered what kind of winger Hickey would be. Would he set up shop like Anders Lee? Would he pull out the soft-hands we never thought he had? Or was he just going to be the guy who would run the lanes for the other two on his line?

The answer was very much the latter. Hickey was just a body out there. He wasn’t at all bad. He held his own and even made a positive impact on the ice.

Hickey skated his lanes, made a few runs a the net, he was even a +2 at the end of the game where he was on the ice as Brock Nelson put in the Isles first and only regulation goal on the night.

And then Thomas Hickey put in the overtime winner to seal the two points and keeping the Islanders season alive for a few more nights.

We were all kidding when we joked that Hickey would score, but he actually did it on what is a pretty nice goal. He knocked the puck out of the air to settle it and just shot it at net.

What this does is keep the Islanders in the fight for at least another few nights.

With both Boston and Ottawa winning in regulation, the Toronto Maple Leafs fell into the final playoff spot with a five-point cushion on the Islanders and three games remaining.

Next: Halak is the Isles Secret Weapon Against a Possible Caps Matchup

The Islanders next game is against the now eliminated Carolina Hurricanes, two points there still won’t guarantee a playoff spot, but it could bring them closer. Assuming Tampa Bay could toss the Maple Leafs their second loss in a row. No pressure Tampa.