Matias Maccelli showed off what he can bring to NY Islanders in breakout performance

When the New York Islanders signed Matias Maccelli to a one-year contract on July 1, Tuesday night's performance against the Vancouver Canucks was exactly what they envisioned.

And it's something they hope to see a whole lot more of.

Maccelli was arguably the Islanders' best forward in their 3-2 victory at UBS Arena, scoring his first goal with the team, adding an assist on the game-winner and matching his single-game career high with six shots on goal.

Not bad for someone who started the night on the fourth line.

The 26-year-old winger was noticeable from his first shift, playing with pace, creating opportunities and making things happen whenever he touched the puck. His effort didn't go unnoticed by head coach Pete DeBoer, who rewarded Maccelli with an in-game promotion to the top line alongside Bo Horvat and Kyle Palmieri.

"Maccelli started on the fourth line and he was buzzing, so we moved him up, and he created the winning goal, obviously playing with Bo," DeBoer said.

Maccelli's first Islanders goal came late in the opening period, just 53 seconds after Palmieri opened the scoring. His biggest contribution came in the third, when he helped set up Palmieri's second goal to break a 2-2 tie.

After a relatively quiet start to his Islanders career, Maccelli now has points in four consecutive games and appears to be finding his confidence.

The Islanders weren't necessarily expecting Maccelli to become a star when they signed him to a one-year deal. They were hoping to find a skilled, creative winger capable of generating offense and providing some much-needed depth.

Tuesday was a pretty good example of what he can bring.

Now the challenge for Maccelli is turning one impressive performance into something more consistent. If he can, the Islanders may have found themselves a bargain.

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