Logan Stanley showing his value to the NY Islanders goes beyond the scoreboard

When the New York Islanders signed Logan Stanley just before the start of the season, nobody was quite sure what to expect. After all, there's usually a reason a 6-foot-7 defenseman is still looking for work with training camp nearly over.

But there was one thing Islanders fans knew they were getting. Size. And plenty of it.

They also knew Stanley wasn't afraid to throw that size around, particularly when one of his teammates needed someone to have his back.

Saturday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Stanley gave Islanders fans their first real look at that side of his game, dropping the gloves with Scott Sabourin in an attempt to inject some life into a team that desperately needed a spark.

The Islanders didn't win the game, but Stanley's message wasn't lost on his teammates.

"First and foremost is sticking up for your teammates, no matter what point in the game," Stanley said following Monday's practice. "That's priority number one."

But there was something else behind Stanley's decision to scrap with Sabourin.

The Islanders were flat. They weren't generating much offensively, and the game was starting to slip away. Sometimes a fight can change that.

"You don't have to win them. You just got to get in them, I think, sometimes and kind of wake the boys up," Stanley said.

And that's exactly what happened.

The Islanders responded with a stronger finish to the second period and carried that momentum into the third, giving themselves a chance to win.

Stanley isn't going to be mistaken for an offensive defenseman, and nobody expects him to be one.

But on a team that has occasionally lacked physicality and an edge, having someone willing to answer the bell matters.

And Stanley is already showing there's more to his value than simply being the biggest guy on the ice.

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