These were not the screw-tight Islanders, but they managed to get it done anyway.
In what was a rather tepid affair that had some solid goaltending from Thomas Greiss and Cory Schneider, the Islanders managed a 2-1 shootout victory over the Devils on Thursday night at Prudential Center.
The game-winning tally came when Josh Bailey was the only scorer in the skills competition, beating Schneider with a blocker-side shot in the fourth round.
The Islanders (31-16-6) had surprised many by being in first place, but were 1-1-2 over their previous four games, which bridged the 10-day break for the bye week and All-Star Game and included a tight 3-1 loss at Boston on Tuesday — hours after the Patriots’ Super Bowl parade.