New York Islanders: Where Are The Losers

4 of 5

Dec 1, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; New York Islanders center John Tavares (91) and Washington Capitals center Lars Eller (20) battle for the puck in the second period at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

Winner: John Tavares

I know, when is John Tavares not a winner? But this week is a bit different. Over the course of the week, John Tavares tallied his first goal in 25 days. Yup, bet you didn’t realize that.

Tavares was in a scoring drought, like most of the team to be fair. But 25 days is a mighty long wait to for the team’s superstar talent to go between scoring goals. It’s not like he was useless in those 25 days. Over those 9 games where he didn’t score a goal he still contributed six points.

Sharing the wealth is great but we want Johnny T to get some dingers. (I hope that baseball term can translate to the ice).

And against Calgary on November 28th, the wait was finally over. Tavares scores his first goal since scoring against Philadelphia on November 3rd. Coincidentally, that’s when the streak happened…

I’m not saying Tavares is single-handedly responsible for the Isles fortunes, but generally, a team’s fortunes go as the fortunes of their superstar. (If they have one. Sorry Arizona).

The Islanders are back in action against the Red Wings on Sunday. Hopefully, they can make it four in a row and actually start to push up the standings in the east. Keep an eye on John Tavares, if they’re to make it four in a row, he’ll be at the center of things. (Get it? He plays center?)